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LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/landscapefigurec00hart_1 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE 
COMPOSITION 


BY 

SADAKICHI  HARTMANN 

(Sidney  Allan) 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  F H O TO- E N G R A V I IN  G S FROM 
CELEBRATED  PAINTINGS  AND  ORIGINAL  PHOTOGRAPHS 


NEW  YORK 

I HE  BAKER  TAYLOR  COMPANY 
1910 


Copyright  1910 

by  the  Baker  & Taylor  Company 


Press  of  Styles  & Cash,  New  York 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE  9 

CHAPTER  ONE. 

Introduction  ...........  i i 

CHAPTER  TWO. 

Geometrical  Forms  of  Composition  .......  19 

CHAPTER  THREE. 

The  Point  of  Interest  ..........  27 

CHAPTER  FOUR. 

Line  Combinations  ..........  37 

CHAPTER  FIVE. 

A Method  of  Spotting  ..........  49 

CHAPTER  SIX. 

The  Placing  of  Figures  .........  57 

CHAPTER  SEVEN. 

Different  Principles  of  Representation  ......  65 

CHAPTER  EIGI IT. 

Background  Arrangements  .........  75 

CHAPTER  NINE. 

Foreground,  Middle  Distance,  and  Distance  .....  85 

CHAPTER  TEN. 

One-Figure  Composition  .........  95 

CHAPTER  ELEVEN. 

Two-Figure  Composition  .........  105 

CHAPTER  TWELVE. 

Composition  of  Three  or  More  Figures  . . . . . .113 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


A French  Village.  George  Michel  . 

A Pastorale.  Louis  Fleckenstein 
Arizona  Clouds.  A.  L.  Groll  .... 
Around  Germantown.  J.  G.  Bullock 
A Summer  Morning.  Rudolph  Eickemeyer,  Jr. 
A Symphony  in  Gold.  A.  L.  Groll  . 

At  the  Cafe.  Zervy 

At  the  Cafe  Francis.  W.  J.  Glackens  . 

At  the  Saw  Bench.  J.  R.  Peterson  . 

At  the  Well.  H.  Denman  .... 

A Youth  Relating  Tales.  S.  T.  Solomon 
Behind  the  Footlights.  Louis  Ivronberg  . 

Bleak  November.  Louis  Fleckenstein  . 

Brush  Burner.  F.  Kost 

Caritas.  A.  H.  Thayer 

Cazenovia  Creek.  Paul  Fournier 
Children  with  Fish.  C.  W.  Hawthorne  . 
Church  at  Vetheuil.  Claude  Monet 
Church,  St.  Germain.  Childe  Hassam  . 
Colonial  Days.  Jeanne  E.  Bennett  . 

Coming  through  the  Rye.  L.  Fleckenstein 
Connecticut  Hills.  W.  H.  Paddock 
Corn  Husking,  Nantucket.  Eastman  Johnson 
Cornstalks.  Paul  Fournier  .... 
Davidson  Stock  Co.  J.  A.  Hood 
Decorative  Study.  Robert  Demachy 
Decorative  Study.  J.  II.  Field 
Drinking  Cows.  C.  Troyon  .... 
Eastside  Dancers.  Geo.  B.  Luks  . 

Embers.  Eastman  Johnson  .... 

Evening.  Chaigneau 

Evening.  Elizabeth  Nourse  .... 
Evening  Peace.  Paul  Dougherty 
Expectation.  A.  Guillon  ..... 
February.  C.  Y.  Abbott  ..... 
Flashing  Sunlight.  Eva  Watson  Schultze 
Fort  George : Early  Spring.  E.  Lawson 
Golden  Anniversary.  G.  Lorey 
Group  of  Birches.  Will  H.  Arnold  . 
Highbridge.  H.  W.  Ranger  .... 
Hillc  Bobbe.  Franz  Hals  .... 
Hymn  to  Selene.  Albert  Thomas  . 

Hypatia.  A.  Seifert 

Illustration  for  “Eben  Holden.”  C.  H.  White 
In  the  Church.  F.  H.  Tompkins 
In  the  Tavern.  Max  Gaissey  .... 
Ipswich  Bridge.  A.  L.  Coburn 


PAGE 

35 

. 109 

18 

52 

46 

24 
69 

. 108 
103 
116 
73 
77 
16 
58 

, 120 
43 

. 106 
17 
60 
121 
. 107 

50 
116 
54 
119 
91 
34 

25 

. 106 
66 
61 
80 
33 
69 

47 
86 
62 
82 
31 
40 
99 
68 
65 
81 
67 

121 

53 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Laguna,  New  Mexico.  A.  L.  Groll  ..........  22 

Landscape.  Ludwig  Dill  .............  55 

Late  Afternoon  in  Winter.  Rudolph  Eickemeyer,  Jr.  . . . . . . . 48 

La  Toilette.  M.  Cassatt Ill 

Little  Peasant  Girl.  J.  G.  Bennett  ...........  91 

Lonely  Birch  Tree.  Paul  Fournier  ...........  43 

Looking  Seaward.  Paul  Dougherty 23 

Madonna  of  the  Peach  Tree.  Annie  W.  Brigman  ........  92 

Man  with  Oar.  C.  W.  Hawthorne  ...........  96 

Midst  Steam  and  Smoke.  Prescott  Adamson  ........  61 

Milton  Dictating  to  his  Daughter.  Eastman  Johnson  . . . . . . .115 

“M’liss.”  Annie  W.  Brigman 80 

Moonrise.  Julian  Rix  .............  32 

Mother  and  Child.  Adelaide  Hanscom 110 

Mother  and  Child.  George  de  Forrest  Brush  ........  86 

Moto  Player.  H.  G.  French  ............  100 

Mott  Haven  Canal.  C.  A.  Needham 62 

Old  Road.  Geo.  A.  Travers  ............  39 

On  the  Dyke.  Elizabeth  Nourse 120 

Perhaps.  A.  Struys 78 

Portuguese  Fisher.  C.  W.  Hawthorne  ..........  108 

Road  to  Paradise.  F.  L.  Stoddard  ...........  58 

Sad  News.  R.  W.  Vonnoh 79 

School  of  Philosophy.  Eastman  Johnson  . . . 118 

Scurrying  Homeward.  Alfred  Stieglitz  ..........  107 

Sedgwick  Avenue.  Paul  Fournier  ...........  27 

Sheep  Pasture.  L.  Dessar 21 

Shelling  Peas.  Alfred  Stieglitz  ............  92 

Silhouette.  Paul  Fournier  ............  36 

Sleeping  Girl.  W.  and  G.  Parrish  ...........  103 

Snow  Scene.  Paul  Fournier 44 

Solitude.  I..  A.  Armer 91 

Spanish  Dancer.  Robert  Henri  ...........  96 

Spring  Song.  F.  L.  Willard  ............  90 

Summer.  C.  Y.  Abbott.  ............  89 

Summer  Morning.  Paul  Dougherty  ..........  15 

Summertime.  Richard  Lorenz  ............  60 

Sunday  Morning.  A.  Marshall  ...........  83 

Telegraph  Poles.  C.  II.  White  ...........  41 

The  Approaching  Storm.  C.  F.  Daubigny  . . . . . . . . . 15 

The  Auto  Girl.  H.  J.  Leonard 85 

The  Bobsled.  H.  Hall 93 

The  Brook.  John  T.  Bullock  ............  42 

The  Brook — Winter.  C.  Yarnall  Abbott  .........  45 

The  Dance.  Rudolph  Eickemeyer,  Jr  . . . . . . . . . . .117 

The  Dragon.  Ipswich.  A.  L.  Coburn  ..........  17 

The  Drawing  Lesson.  E.  Sterling  ...........  102 

The  Edge  of  the  Clift".  M.  A.  Wiggins  ..........  89 

The  Fifer.  Eastman  Johnson  ............  105 

The  Flute  Player.  Dumont  ............  98 

The  Hymn.  Louis  Fleckenstein  . . . . . . . . . . .111 

The  Kiss.  Eastman  Johnson  . . . . . . . . . . . .111 

The  Kitchen  of  Mount  Vernon.  Eastman  Johnson  .......  82 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

The  Knitting  Lesson.  Jeanne  E.  Bennett 109 

The  Manger.  Gertrude  Kasebier 100 

The  Marshes.  Jules  Dupre 38 

The  Net  Mender.  Alfred  Stieglitz 88 

The  Old  Method.  R.  J.  Hillier 90 

The  Old  Mill.  Alfred  Stieglitz 55 

The  Pool.  H.  W.  Ranger 20 

The  Pool.  E.  Steichen 53 

The  Source  of  the  Housatonic.  Geo.  A.  Travers  .......  32 

The  Storm.  J.  A.  Hood 63 

The  Story.  C.  W.  Hawthorne 110 

The  Tree-top  Hill.  W.  D.  Paddock 28 

The  Valley.  W.  H.  Paddock 51 

Toy  Houses.  Jeanne  E.  Bennett 101 

Tree  Fellers  at  Work.  Horatio  Walker  ..........  59 

Trying  on  an  Old  Gown.  Bessie  Buehrmann  97 

Tuesday.  W.  F.  James 98 

Two  Little  Dutch  Girls.  Jeanne  E.  Bennett  .........  71 

Two  Steins.  J.  P.  Kelmer 113 

Villa  on  the  Adriatic.  Alexander  Mueller 31 

Waiting  for  Fair  Weather.  W.  G.  Corthell 114 

Washed  by  the  Sea.  Edw.  Gay 23 

Watching  and  Waiting.  Josef  Israels  ..........  78 

Water  Nymphs.  Chas.  I.  Berg 102 

What  the  Shell  Says.  Eastman  Johnson  .........  105 

Windmills.  Geo.  Michel 54 

Windswept  Trees.  Paul  Dougherty 56 

Winter.  R.  Eickemeyer,  Jr  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 

Winter  Time.  H.  Hall  .............  93 

Wood  Interior.  Julian  Rix  ............  52 

Yeddo  Street  Scenes.  Sunsho  ...........  121 

Young  Horseman.  Richard  Lorenz 87 


PREFACE. 


THE  following'  chapters  on  Landscape  and 
Figure  Composition,  by  Sadakichi  Hart- 
mann, were  originally  written  for  the 
pages  of  The  Photographic  Times,  wherein  they 
first  appeared.  The  practical  value  of  the  text, 
profusely  illustrated  as  it  was  by  photo-engrav- 
ings from  celebrated  paintings  as  well  from  ori- 
ginal photographs,  proved  so  great  to  the  readers 
of  that  magazine,  as  the  chapters  appeared  from 
month  to  month,  and  were  found  to  be  so  instruc- 
tive to  art  students  in  general,  that  their  author 
was  induced  to  collect  them,  with  all  of  the  ori- 
ginal illustrations,  for  re-publication  in  book 
form. 

Mr.  Hartmann  is  a well-known  art  writer  and 
critic.  I le  is  an  expert  with  the  camera,  as  well 
as  with  the  pencil  and  brush ; and  his  instructions 
may,  therefore,  he  depended  upon  as  thoroughly 
reliable  and  helpful,  not  only  by  students  of 
photography,  hut  also  by  students  of  the  fine  arts 
as  well. 

The  chapters  have  been  carefully  revised  and 
considerably  enlarged  for  publication  in  book 
form. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Introduction. — On  the  Shape  and  Size  oi  Pictures. — The  Sky  and  Horizon 

Line. — With  Illustrations. 


LIE  art  of  landscape  painting  was  unknown  to 
the  ancient  world.  People  lived  largely  an 
outdoor  life  in  those  days  and  did  not  seem 
to  be  interested  in  the  depiction  of  their  daily 
surroundings. 

'Only  slowly  with  the  growth  of  larger 
towns  and  cities  awoke  an  interest  in  land- 
scape delineation.  Previous  to  the  mid- 
tile  of  the  fifteenth  century  it  was  rarely  in- 
troduced. Even  Giotto  painted  naught  but 
some  stereotype  park  or  garden  scenery. 
Shortly  after  it  began  to  be  utilized  as  back- 
grounds, but  it  was  treated  by  the  Old 
Masters,  with  the  exception  of  Titian,  merely 
as  an  accessory.  We  catch  a glimpse  of 
Italian  scenery  through  the  windows  of  their 
interiors  and  distant  panoramic  views  in  the 
backgrounds  of  their  figure  compositions. 
They  were  perfect  masters  of  perspective, 
were  capable  of  rendering  atmosphere  and 
knew  the  value  of  expressing  a certain  mood  or  sentiment  in  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  the  picture,  but  they  did  not  realize  the  independent  pictorial 
possibilities  of  landscapes. 

In  the  same  year  of  1600  two  men  were  born,  one  in  France  and  the 
other  in  Holland,  who  were  destined  to  become  the  two  greatest  landscape  paint- 
ers of  the  seventeenth  century.  Their  names  are  known  to  everybody  interested 
in  art : Claude  Lorraine  and  Ruysdael.  They  were  the  first  to  make  a specialty 
of  it,  giving  due  attention  to  details.  Lorraine  was  fond  of  showing  miles  and 
miles  of  country  in  beautiful  light  effects,  vast  panoramic  views  of  historical 
or  classical  interest.  Ruysdael  was  the  first  realist.  His  subjects  were  ex- 
ceedingly simple  for  his  time,  he  was  satisfied  with  farm  houses,  windmills, 
meadows,  woodland,  windblown  trees  and  quiet  woodland  pools,  but  they  look 
overcrowded  to  us.  We  prefer  mere  fragments  of  nature,  such  as  the 
Barbizon  artists  have  painted. 

This  striving  for  simplicity  started  with  Gainsborough  and  Constable. 
Gainsborough  succeeded  in  simplying  the  themes  of  the  Dutch  painters,  but 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


.1 

it  was  left  to  Constable  to  strike  the  first  modern  note.  He  abolished  all 
classical  traditions,  he  tried  to  paint  objects  as  he  saw  them  without  altering 
them  into  special  conventional  shapes  that  had  been  invented  by  the  Old 
Masters. 

Landscape  painting  is  of  practical  educational  value  to  photographers 
only  since  Constable’s  time,  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  He  was  the 
pathfinder  for  the  masters  of  Barbizon,  just  as  Turner  with  his  weird 
atmospheric  experiments  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Impressionists. 

With  Corot,  Rousseau  and  Daubigny,  landscape  painting,  the  so-called  pay- 
sage  intime,  reached  its  prime.  They  mastered  everything  necessary  for  a 
good  landscape:  color,  draughtsmanship,  graceful  composition,  poetical  senti- 
ment, and  truth  to  nature.  The  Impressionists  only  added  a lighter  tonality, 
they  handle  their  subjects  differently  and  frequently  most  interestingly  but 
they  do  not  possess  a more  perfect  mastery  of  the  essentials  of  landscape  art 
as  is  often  claimed  for  them,  than  their  predecessors. 

All  I have  to  discuss  in  this  book  is  composition.  My  endeavor 
will  be  to  analyze  and  to  make  as  clear  as  possible  the  fundamental 
principles  that  underly  the  construction  of  landscape  pictures.  They  are  like 
art  itself,  of  a decidedly  eclectic  nature.  There  are  the  viewpoints  and  rules 
of  the  Old  Masters,  of  the  Dutch  painters,  of  all  the  various  schools  up  to  our 
own  American  landscape  painters,  Inness,  Wyant,  Homer  Martin,  and  Tryon 
that  rank  second  only  to  those  of  France,  and  last  and  by  no  means  least  of 
the  Japanese  artists  with  their  unsymmetrical  space  division  and  quaint  sug- 
gestiveness. All  these  possess  attractions  and  influence  the  modern  picture- 
maker.  It  is  impossible  to  comprehend  and  utilize  all  their  peculiarities  without 
long  and  serious  study.  I hope  to  be  able — although  I am  obliged  to  con- 
dense a vast  amount  of  information  into  a comparatively  small  compass — to 
convey  by  simple  straightforward  language  and  well  chosen  examples  those 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


phases,  forms  and  principles  of  pic- 
torial composition  that  every  land- 
scape photographer  should  be  familiar 
with.  My  intention  is  to  devote  six  « 
chapters  to  landscape  composition, 
one  chapter  on  the  placing  of  figures 
in  landscape  and  then  to  branch  off 
into  figure  composition. 

The  first  thing  to  be  considered 
is  the  shape  and  size  of  the  picture. 

For  landscape  the  oblong  shape  is 
the  preferable  one.  The  ordinary 
landscape,  as  we  look  at  it,  represents 
a wide  extent  of  space.  Out  of  this 
expanse  we  select  a fragment  for  pic- 
torial purposes  and  as  the  horizontal 
lines  and  planes  are  generally  more 
predominant  and  longer  than  the 
vertical,  the  oblong  shape  proves  the 
best  to  arrange  them.  The  canons 
of  Colorado  or  a wood  interior  of 
California  pines  would  look  well  in 
an  upright,  but  fiat  country  or  the 
sea,  or  any  expanse  of  country  with 
a strong,  foreground  and  varied  mid- 
dle distance  will  in  most  cases  fare 
better  in  the  oblong. 

The  perfect  scpiare  shape  (Diag. 
i)  is  difficult  to  handle.  Somehow  " f 

most  schemes  of  composition  do  not  fit  into  it.  They  always  look  a trifle  forced, 
awkward  or  clumsy.  It  is  most  advisable  to  avoid  that  shape  entirely. 

The  most  preferable  size  of  the  oblong  shape  (Diag.  2 is  about  4x6  or 
4x7.  The  exact  size  is  largely  a matter  of  taste  and  convenience.  When  we 
go  to  a stationer  to  order  our  visiting  cards,  we  approve  of  certain  sizes  and 
dislike  others  and  finally  select  the  one  we  like  best.  Very  few  people  select 
odd  sizes.  This  feeling  for  proper  form  relations  is  to  a certain  extent  inborn 
with  us,  but  when  we  get  to  making  pictures  we  are  apt  to  overlook  it.  We 
should  carefully  weigh  the  opportunities  which  each  shape  affords  before  we 
make  the  start,  and  not  simply  do  it  because  the  entire  subject  we  happen  to  be 
interested  in  does  not  cover  the  plate. 

The  size  of  diagram  4 which  is  4x8  is  entirely  too  wide,  and  yet  pic- 
tures of  this  class  enjoyed  public  favor.  Daubigny  (Fig.  9)  painted  most  of 
his  pictures  in  exaggerated  oblong,  and  we  all  remember  the  cheap  etchings 
that  were  once  so  popular.  As  you  will  notice  Daubigny  was  fond  of  de- 
picting long  stretches  of  sea  and  soil  and  long  narrow  strips  of  wood  and 
meadowland.  The  choice  of  subjects  explains  his  preference. 


I 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


The  choice  of  subjects  will  also 
decide  when  shape  three  is  pref- 
erable to  shape  four.  We  will  re- 
turn to  this  subject  in  future  dis- 
cussions. The  exaggerated  oblong 
as  an  upright  is  the  most  unwieldy 
of  all.  It  generally  proves  to  be  a 
waste  of  space.  The  oval  and  oth- 
er forms  like  the  half  circle  (for 
fans)  are  hardly  ever  used,  and  if 
used,  depend  more  on  trimming 
than  anything  else.  A weak  fore- 
ground in  the  middle  and  a poor 
sky  make  an  excellent  fan  com- 
position. 

The  most  important  line  is  the 
sky  and  horizon  line  which  separates 
the  air  from  earth  and  water,  the 
sky  from  the  sail  and  sea. 

All  other  lines,  however  con- 
spicuous they  may  be  and  important 
to  the  making  of  the  picture,  as  the 
shore  line  in  a seascape,  the  bank  of 
a river  (Fig.  3)  or  distinct  lines  in 
the  foreground  (Figs.  1 and  5),  they 
are  invariably  subordinated  to  this 
line. 

Its  direction  and  character  is 
“rsHMurioN ” by  c.  f.  i.a'jbk.ny  of  course  endless  in  its  variety.  It 

(Figures  7, 8 and  9.)  is  seldom  perfectly  straight  and  hori- 

zontal as  in  Fig.  5.  In  most  cases  it  would  be  too  bold.  It  needs  some 
break  as  the  dark  headland  in  Fig.  4.  Nor  should  it  be  a monotonous, 
zigzag  repetition  as  in  Fig.  2.  It  should  undulate  freely  and  with  the 
help  of  trees,  buildings,  rocks,  etc.,  furnish  a pleasing  rhythmic  line  of 
division  between  lighter  and  dark  masses.  The  reader  by  this  time 
probably  understands  what  1 mean  to  convey  by  the  term  sky  and  horizon 
lines.  They  are  mostly  mixed  up,  a part  of  each.  Figs.  2,  3,  and  6 show  pure 
sky  lines.  Fig.  5 is  the  only  one  which  presents  a pure  horizon  line.  Fig.  1, 
4,  and  the  three  Daubigny’s  are  mixtures.  This  line  is  nearly  always  the  most 
important  feature  of  a picture.  The  success  of  some  pictures  is  made  by  it, 
as  for  instance  Fig.  6.  Daubigny,  strange  to  say,  did  not  seem  to  lay  special 
stress  on  the  beauty  of  his  sky  lines.  I fear  they  were  a trifle  too  long  to  flow 
with  ease  across  the  picture. 

Of  course  there  are  landscapes,  for  instance  wood  interiors,  where  this  line 
is  absent.  But  there  will  always  be  some  other  line  that  will  take  its  part. 

The  main  part  of  this  line  is  generally  situated  in  the  region  A B or  C D of 


14 


SUMMER  MORNING.  [Fig.  i.]  Paul  Dougherty. 


THE  APPROACHING  STORM.  [Fig.  4.]  C.  F.  Daubigny. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


BLEAK  NOVEMBER.  [Fig-  2.]  Louis  Fleckenstein. 

diagram  5,  a trifle  above  or  beneath  the  middle.  It  should  never  be  exactly  in 
the  middle  as  indicated  by  the  dotted  line.  In  recent  art  we  often  see  the  sky 
line  very  high  as  in  diagram  6 or  very  low  as  in  diagram  7.  It  is  suitable  for 
novel  effects  but  not  to  be  recommended  unless  the  whole  composition  is 
specially  arranged  for  it.  In  Coburn's  “The  Dragon,  Ipswich,”  (Fig.  5)  we 
have  the  high  sky  line,  which  helps  to  express  the  vastness  of  the  territory  de- 
picted. In  “Arizona  Clouds,”  by  A.  L.  Groll,  Fig.  6,  we  have  the  low  sky  line 
which  by  giving  an  undue  share  of  prominence  of  sky  and  rolling  clouds,  tried 
to  express  very  much  the  same  thing,  the  immensity  of  a desolate  tract  of  coun- 
try. Both  look  affected,  not  quite  natural.  It  is  by  far  safer  to  adopt  the  rule 
that  the  sky  should  never  be  nearer  to  the  top  and  bottom  than  one-quarter  of 
the  height  of  the  picture.  In  Fig.  4 it  is  about  as  low  as  it  ordinarily  can  be 
and  yet  it  is  more  than  one-quarter.  If  you  follow  this  rule  you  will  get  a 
more  normal  picture,  which  after  all  is  more  desirable  than  any  highstrung  ef- 
fect, particularly  so  if  it  is  merely  an  imitation  and  not  evolved  from  an  ori- 
ginal inspiration. 


THE  DRAGON,  IPSWICH. 


[Fig-  5-] 


By  A.  L.  Coburn. 


ARIZONA  CLOUDS. 


[Fig.  6.] 


A.  L.  Groll. 


CHAPTER  II. 


Geometrical  Forms  of  Composition.— The  Ellipse. — Horizontal  and 
Diagonal  Arrangements. — The  Triangular  Cut. — Rectangular  Construc- 
tion.— With  Seven  Illustrations  and  Five  Diagrams. 

^METRICAL  forms  as  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  picture  construction  are  scarcer  in 
landscape  than  in  figure  composition.  The 
circle,  the  oval,  the  equilateral  tri- 
angle, the  quadrilateral  shapes,  etc.,  which 
play  such  an  important  part  in  figure  com- 
position are  unavailable  in  landscape  com- 
position. 

The  basis  to  work  upon  is  a much 
simpler  one.  The  most  popular  form  is 
the  elongated  ellipse  ( Diag.  8).  Corot, 
the  greatest  master  and  innovator  of  land- 
scape composition,  was  particularly  fond 
of  it.  He  invented  a typical  arrangement 
for  all  lake  and  woodland  pool  painters  that 
followed  him..  Figures  12  and  13  are  two 
fair  examples  of  it.  In  Ranger’s  painting 
we  have  a clear  ellipse.  It  dominates  the 
whole  picture,  and  would  do  so  in  a still 
more  pronounced  degree  if  the  horizon  line 
were  higher.  The  eye  involuntarily  glides 
around  the  elongated  shape  and  if  all  ob- 
jects in  its  vicinity  are  arranged  in  such  a way  that  they  form  mere  ac- 
cents to  the  leading  line,  the  composition  will  be  pleasing  to  the  eye.  Notice 
the  boat  in  this  picture,  the  dark  spots  in  the  foreground,  and  the  shrubbery 
to  the  left  which  meets  one  end  of  the  ellipse.  They  all  help  to  make  the  pic- 
ture more  charming.  Larger  objects  can  be  handled  in  the  same  way;  they 
may  even  interrupt  the  continuity  of  the  line,  as  the  sheep  in  Dessar’s  picture, 
without  destroying  the  harmony.  It  is  impossible  to  tell  what  forms  would 
be  most  advantageous  or  what  lines  should  be  avoided.  This  is  entirely  a 
matter  of  feeling  and  good  taste,  and  can  only  be  realized  by  numerous  ex- 
periments. 

Fig.  13  is  a more  rugged  composition  than  Fig.  12  and  merely  a modi- 
fication of  the  regular  ellipse  arrangement.  But  even  here  it  tells  its  story. 
Without  the  pool  the  picture  would  lack  interest.  The  white  surface  of  the 
pool  is  balanced  by  the  dark  foliage,  and  yet  you  may  take  away  the  tree  and 
still  preserve  a charming  picture,  provided  the  horizon  line  would  follow  the  un- 


l9 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


dulating  line  of  the  pool  on  the  right 
side  as  well  as  on  the  left.  The  rocks 
and  sheep  at  the  left  end  of  the  ellipse 
melt  into  the  ellipse  and  the  ruts  of 
the  road  run  parallel  with  a part  of 
it.  The  small  cluster  of  trees  in  the 
distance  repeats  the  dark  spot  of  the 
shore  line  above  the  head  of  the  sheep. 
All  these  details  join  to  make  this 
picture  a good  composition,  but  they 
are  all  dependent  on  the  dominating 
form  of  the  ellipse.  For  these  vari- 
ous reasons  the  introduction  of  an 
ellipse  is  always  safe,  and  frequently  successful  if  sufficient  pains  are  taken. 

Another  much  favored  form  is  the  diagonal  composition  (Diag.  9).  It  is 
rarely  used  exactly  the  way  as  I have  indicated  it.  It  merely  represents  an 
extreme  possibility,  dividing  the  picture  into  a light  and  dark  triangle.  It  is 
the  broadest  effect  possible.  Fig.  14  and  15,  and  Fig.  2 (I  will  sometimes 
be  obliged  to  refer  to  the  illustrations  of  previous  articles)  carry  out  modi- 
fications of  this  scheme.  The  line  does  not  exactly  start  in  the  corners  but 
lower  down  or  higher  up,  but  as  long  as  it  runs  diagonally  across  the  pic- 
ture and  produces  a triangular  shape  at  the  bottom,  the  arrangement  is  to  be 


THE  POOL. 


(Fig.  12.) 


H.  W . Ranger. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


SHEEP  PASTURE.  (Fig.  13.)  L.  Dessar. 

classed  among  the  diagonal  compositions.  Fig.  14  would  surely  look  better 
if  the  city  were  raised  a trifle  higher  and  offered  a more  diagonal  slant  with 
the  adjoining  foothills.  Fig.  15  is  constructed  on  that  principle — the  dark 
rocks  against  the  lighter  sea.  Fig.  2,  in  a way,  was  the  best  example  for 
conveying  the  principle  of  this  style  of  composition.  But  the  dark  mass 
with  its  monotony  of  cornstacks  lacked  interest.  There  was  nothing  to 
lend  it  animation.  Some  lighter  object  or  a lighter  effect  on  the  cornstalks 
should  have  been  introduced.  This  idea  I wished  to  convey  by  drawing  the 
little  building  into  the  dark  triangle  of  Fig.  9.  There  must  be  something  to 
give  life  to  the  dark  planes.  Also  Fig.  15  seems  rather  deficient  in  this 
respect,  but  it  may  be  in  the  color  which  is  lost  in  the  reproduction.  One 
should  always  be  very  careful  in  judging  the  monochrome  values  in  repro- 
ductions of  paintings. 

If  you  should  have  the  leisure  and  opportunity  of  studying  paintings 
in  exhibitions,  or  through  the  mediums  of  magazines  or  books  you  will  be 
astonished  how  many  pictures  are  built  up  on  this  principle.  Always  keep 
diagram  9 in  your  mind,  when  you  attempt  a picture  of  this  kind.  Get  as  near 
to  it  as  possible.  The  broader  the  effect  is  without  neglecting  the  details  the 
better  will  be  the  composition.  It  is  much  more  pliable  than  the  ellipse  com- 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


LAGUNA,  NEW  MEXICO.  (Fig.  14.)  A.  L.  Groll. 


position  as  it  offers  much  more  variety,  an  infinite  number  of  schemes,  suitable 
almost  to  every  subject. 

The  simplest  form  of  composition  is  set  forth  in  Diag.  io  and  Fig. 
11.  It  is  merely  the  play  of  one  dark  oblong  against  another  lighter  one  of 
almost  equal  size.  It  is,  however,  not  as  easy  as  it  seems  at  the  first  glance. 
The  lower  darker  oblong  should  always  be  the  smaller  one  or  in  other  words 
the  sky  line  should  be  lower  than  the  middle  of  the  picture.  This  will  bring 
the  two  masses  into  proper  relation.  The  remainder  depends  entirely  on  the 
breaking  up  of  the  two  masses.  This  is  well  done  in  Gay’s  picture.  You  will 
notice  that  there  is  a tendency  for  horizontal  lines,  and  if  slanting  lines  are  in- 
troduced as  in  the  two  boats  and  the  lines  in  the  lower  left  corner  that  they 
run  parallel.  But  this  does  not  belong  to  the  present  chapter.  VVe  first  must 
form  a basis  to  work  upon  before  we  can  go  into  details.  This  style  of  com- 
position is  best  suited  to  midocean  marines  and  solitary  tracts  of  marshland. 
It  is  somewhat  heavy  and  only  adapts  itself  to  sombre  subjects. 

Fig.  10,  “A  Symphony  in  Gold,"  by  A.  L.  Groll  (painted  entirely  in  golds 
and  yellows)  represents  what  I call  the  triangular  cut  (Diag.  n).  It  is  al- 
ways effective.  It  does  somewhat  the  same  service  as  the  ellipse.  Only  it 
does  not  pull  the  rest  of  the  composition  towards  it  which  is  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal advantages  of  the  ellipse.  On  the  contrary  it  makes  a direct  cut  into  the 
picture.  It  has  to  be  balanced  by  all  other  shapes  in  the  picture.  The  fore- 
ground— there  is  entirely  too  much  of  it — was  really  unnecessary  and  the 
painter  only  saved  it  by  repeating  in  it  vaguely  the  shape  of  the  triangular 
cut.  In  landscape  the  cut  A (Diag.  n)  occurs  most  frequently.  Cut  B is 
more  suitable  for  figure  work,  but  it  also  happens  in  landscapes.  The  upper 


22 


LOOKING  SEAWARD. 


(Fig.  15.) 


Paul  Dougherty. 


WASHED  BY  THE  SEA. 


(Fig.  11.) 


Edw.  Gay. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


triangular  would  be  the  sky,  the  cut  itself  might  furnish  the  landscape,  trees,  a 
hill  or  a flower  field,  and  the  small  triangle  in  the  lower  corner  might  be 
taken  up  by  a strip  of  water  or  a road. 

The  last  form  of  composition  under  consideration  is  the  rectangular  ar- 
rangement ( Diag.  12).  It  is  most  suitable  for  the  upright  shape.  Of  course 
it  is  in  landscapes  hardly  ever  strictly  rectangular  but  more  as  the  dotted  line 
indicates.  In  the  “Drinking  Cows,"  by  Troyon  we  have  a good  specimen. 
Nothing  simpler  could  be  imagined.  I even  doubt  if  the  cow  in  the  background 
and  the  two  willow  stumps  were  necessary.  This  style  lends  itself  par- 
ticularly to  the  depiction  of  “edge  of  forest”  scenes,  to  tree  trunks,  with  a pool 
in  the  foreground.  Charming  pictures  can  be  made  of  beeches  and  other  trees 


A SYMPHONY  IN  GOLD.  (Fig.  10.)  A.  L.  Groll. 


with  an  interesting  bark  texture.  Corot  often  used  a modification  of  this 
arrangement  by  giving  the  vertical  line  the  twist  of  an  S shape. 

In  the  oblong  landscape  the  rectangular  composition  is  less  effective. 
Turn  the  diagram  lengthways  and  you  will  see  for  yourself  that  the  shapes  do 
not  produce  an  agreeable  impression.  But  it  is  often  used  as  a minor  incident, 
as  for  instance  in  Fig.  12,  but  even  there  it  is  nothing  particularly  beautiful. 
Its  lines  are  too  harsh.  In  the  upright  they  give  strength  to  the  picture,  in  the 
oblong  they  generally  form  a disaccord. 

The  five  geometrical  forms  I had  occasion  to  exploit  in  this  chapter  and  I 
hope  sufficiently  minutely  and  exactly  to  be  of  value,  represent  about  all  that  are 
necessary  to  know.  Many  students  of  composition  may  differ  with  me  on  that 


24 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


point.  But  it  has  always  been  my 
policy  to  eliminate  whatever  1 deem 
unessential.  Discussions  that  are  too 
involved,  too  crowded  with  burden- 
some technicalities,  are  never  read. 

They  merely  confuse.  My  object  is 
first  of  all  to  gain  the  sympathy  of 
my  readers,  so  that  they  may  follow 
my  arguments,  which  they  would  fail 
to  do  without  it.  Theories  are  only 
of  service  if  they  awaken  reflection, 
and  produce  practical  results.  And 
for  that  reason  I have  chosen  these 
geometric  forms  which  may  be  term- 
ed classic,  which  appear  and  reappear 
wherever  landscapes  are  painted, 
drawn,  or  photographed.  Each  of 
them  has  its  own  individuality.  We 
have  learnt  that. 

The  principal  qualities  of  ellipse 
composition  are  grace  and  harmony,  those  of  diagonal  and  horizontal  composi- 
tion strength  and  breadth,  while  the  triangular  cast  lends  variety  to  a picture 
and  the  rectangular  composition  a certain  simplicity  and  elegance.  They  all 
possess  a strange  vitality  and  can  not  help  conveying  sufficient  inspiration  for 
new  treatment  and  new  combinations.  Many  more  intricate  methods  will 
follow,  but  none  of  more  importance  than  the  fundamental  forms.  They 
are  the  starting  point  and  form  the  basis  for  all  further  discussions  on  the 
silhouette,  the  point  of  interest,  Parallelism,  Line,  Tone,  and  Chiaroscural 
Composition. 

We  all  have  seen  pictures  that  are  technically  good,  that  are  printed  from 
an  excellent  negative  with  all  details  faithfully  produced  and  conscientiously 
worked  out,  and  notwithstanding  may  be  found  painfully  uninteresting. 
Why?  The  advanced  photographer  says  because  the  composition  is  unin- 
teresting or  badly  constructed. 

I am  of  the  opinion  that  by  far  oftener  the  subject  has  been  so  unin- 
teresting that  nothing  could  be  done  with  it,  or  what  is  more  plausible  that  the 
photographer  did  not  get  interested  in  the  subject  sufficiently  to  bring  bis  best 
faculties  into  play.  A good  landscape  photograph  must  be  a faithful  record, 
and  I even  go  farther  than  that  by  saying  a good  landscape  photograph  cannot 
be  good  without  being  a faithful  record. 

The  faculty  of  observation  I consider  as  important  as  the  knowledge 
of  composition.  And  that  does  not  depend  entirely  on  the  composition.  It 
depends  on  your  knowledge  of  nature,  your  love  for  out-of-doors,  and  your 
ability  to  read  a mood  of  your  own  temperament  into  a scene.  Work  out  your 
own  thoughts  and  schemes. 


DRINKING  COH'S.  (Fig-  16.)  C.  Troyon. 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  Point  of  Interest.— The  Silhouette. — Symmetry. — Perspective.  - Paral- 
lelism of  Horizontal  and  Vertical  Lines.— Line  Compositions  of 
Vertical  Tendency. — With  Eleven  Illustrations  and  Eight  Diagrams. 


HE  establishment  of  a “point  of  interest,  has  al- 
ways been  considered  to  be  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant factors  in  pictorial  composition.  The  majority 
of  carefully  thought  out  and  executed  pictures,  and 
surely  all  elaborate  compositions,  have  such  a main 
object  of  interest,  not  merely  as  far  as  the  subject 
is  concerned,  but  also  placed  in  such  a way  that  it 
immediately  attracts  our  attention  and  asserts  itself 
as  the  controlling  force  in  the  remainder  of  the 
composition.  This  is  particularly  true  of  figure 
composition.  It  is  not  quite  as  essential  in  landscape  arrangement. 

If  we  study  the  illustrations  accompanying  this  chapter  we  will  find  that 


Figs.  23  and  25  have  no  point  of  in- 
terest, and  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
determine  where  such  a point  is  situ- 
ated in  Pigs.  17  and  20.  These  pic- 
tures are  merely  fragments  like  the 
‘Group  of  Birches"  and  the  “Sil- 
houette" or  dependent  on  other  prin- 
ciples of  composition,  which  1 shall  dis- 
cuss later  on. 

In  Fig.  18,  “Evening  Peace,"  by 
Paul  Dougherty  the  point  of  interest  is 
clearly  defined.  The  eye  is  at  once  at- 
tracted by  the  little  cottage  at  the  hill- 
side. It  holds  our  interest.  The  eye 
involuntarily  returns  to  it.  There  are 
quite  a number  of  shapes  and  lines  and 
planes  of  different  tonality  (really  more 
than  necessary)  in  this  picture.  The 
eye  would  restlessly  wander  from  place 
to  place  if  the  picture  did  not  contain  a 
starting  or  point  of  rest.  By  introduc- 
ing this  spot  that  is  more  conspicuous 
than  anything  else  in  this  picture,  the 
various  parts  combine  harmoniously. 


SEDGWICK  Al'E.  (Fig.  21.)  Paul  Fournier. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  TREE-TOP  HILL. 


(Fig.  17.) 


W.  D.  Paddock. 


It  would  be  impossible  to  point  out  such  a spot  in  Fig.  17  or  20.  In  Fig.  19  it  is 
furnished  by  the  highlight  on  the  creek.  The  picture  would  make  an  absolutely 
monotonous  impression  without  it.  In  Fig.  24  it  is  the  shimmer  of  moonlight  on 
the  water  in  the  distance,  and  in  Fig.  26  the  elliptical  shape  of  the  lake.  By 
far  the  best  example  of  a point  of  interest  is  furnished  by  “A  French  Village,” 
by  George  Michel.  Title  and  point  of  interest  cover  each  other.  Another 
fair  example  is  “Sedgwick  Avenue,”  by  Paul  Fournier.  There  the  vanishing 
point  of  the  road  into  which  all  lines  converge  also  explains  the  reason 
why  the  picture  was  taken,  to  show  an  uphill  road  with  the  vista  of  a build- 
ing lost  in  mist.  A road  or  a river  dwindling  away  in  the  distance  always 
furnishes  a good  point  of  interest.  The  Dutch  landscape  painters  were  fond  of 
the  symmetrical  theme  as  shown  in  Diag.  19  which  is  strictly  an  ar- 
rangement of  perspective.  Also  Fig.  24  is  good  in  that  respect.  Modern 
painters  somehow  neglect  the  laws  of  perspective,  vide  Diag.  18,  a landscape 
by  Mauve.  They  strive  more  for  accuracy  of  expression  than  of  representation 
and  prefer  to  convey  distance  and  atmosphere  by  tone  rather  than  by  line.  The 
laws  of  perspective  are  a study  by  themselves.  The  photographer  can  get  along 
without  them,  as  they  are  with  him  merely  a selection  of  lines  running  to  one 
point  (Diag.  20).  In  Fig.  22  the  light  behind  the  rushes  should  furnish  the 
point  of  interest,  but  it  would  be  necessary  to  subdue  the  streak  of  light  in 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


the  sky  and  foreground.  In  my  opinion,  a definite  point  of  interest  (although 
not  absolutely  necessary  for  the  making  of  a good  picture)  will  always  improve 
a picture.  It  will  concentrate  the  interest  and  explain  the  picture  at  the  first 
glance. 

The  point  of  interest  in  well  composed  pictures  will  generally  be  found 
within  the  region  of  the  dotted  square,  Diag.  16.  It  should  never  be  exactly 
in  the  center  or  very  near  to  it.  It  is  situated  most  frequently  somewhere 
near  the  two  lower  corners  of  the  dotted  square.  Modern  composition,  how- 
ever, has  no  strict  rules  in  regard  to  this.  In  the  so-called  composition  which 
will  be  discussed  in  Chapter  IV,  the  point  of  the  interest  is  often  shifted 
to  the  very  edge  of  the  picture  as  indicated  by  the  little  squares  in  Diag.  16. 
The  distance  from  the  dotted  lines  to  the  edge  of  the  picture  is  about  one-third 
of  the  height  of  the  picture. 

Equally  important  as  the  point  of  interest,  is,  at  times,  the  leading  line 
idea.  I divide  line  composition  into  four  parts;  outline  or  silhouette;  par- 
allelism of  lines ; curves,  zigzag  and  undulating  lines ; and  combinations  of  lines. 
We  will  first  consider  the  silhouette.  By  silhouette  I do  not  mean  so  much  the 
representation  of  an  object  by  mere  outlines  filled  in  with  solid  black  (viz.  Fig. 
25)  but  rather  an  interesting  outline  of  a dark  plane  against  a lighter  one. 
Fig.  25  is  simply  a clever  stunt,  not  a picture.  A good  example  of  what 
the  painters  understand  by  silhouette  we  have  in  Diag.  19  and  Fig.  26. 
There  the  outlines  of  the  foliage  against  the  sky  really  help  to  make  the  pic- 
ture interesting.  Every  curve  and  undulation  and  change  in  the  direction  of 
the  line  has  to  be  carefully  considered.  A successful  silhouette  is  entirely 
a matter  of  selection.  Corot  was  particularly  clever  in  the  handling  of  this 
feature  of  composition.  He  believed  in  big  masses,  the  juxtaposition  of  one  big 
dark  shape  against  a smaller  and  lighter  one.  Travers’  picture  has  some  of 


29 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


these  characteristics,  but  Corot  would  not  have  shown  so  much  of  the  sky. 
The  “Moonrise.”  by  Julian  Rix,  also  shows  two  silhouettes,  but  the  painter 

did  not  lay  any  particular  strain  upon 
them,  and  worked  more  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  balancing  two  dark  spots  than 
getting  a striking  silhouette. 

The  silhouette  is  particularly  valu- 
able as  a medium  of  expression  in 
backgrounds  for  trees,  shrubbery, 
buildings,  or  any  decided  mass  that  has 
a picturesque  outline.  Fig.  17,  the 
“Tree  Top  Hill,"  by  W.  D.  Paddock 
seems  to  have  been  made  solely  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  an  interesting  sil- 
houette. But  the  painter  carefully 
evaded  the  monotonous  effect  of  Fig. 
25  by  introducing  detail  into  the  trees 
and  by  placing  them  in  a large  light 
space.  There  is  atmosphere  in  the 
picture.  It  is  never  advisable  to 
sacrifice  everything  else  for  the  exploi- 
tation of  one  single  phase  of  composi- 


(Fig.  22.) 


Paul  Fournier. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


lion.  All  the  various  methods  of  com- 
position are  so  closely  connected  to  each 
other  that  it  is  often  exceedingly  difficult 
to  separate  one  from  another.  Fig.  21 
represents  a combination  of  the  diag- 
onal division  of  space  w ith  parallelism  of 
vertical  lines;  Fig.  19  the  parallelism  of 
vertical  lines  with  a high  sky  line  and  the 
triangular  cut  in  the  distance.  Fig.  26 
is  an  arrangement  of  diagonal  com- 
position, of  an  ellipse  and  silhouette 
forms.  The  latter  have  received  the 
principal  attention.  To  analyze  pictures 
in  this  way  will  prove  a beneficial  pas- 
time to  every  student  of  composition. 
You  will  always  find  that  one  method, 
generally  the  most  conspicuous  one,  is 
the  controlling  factor  in  the  composition 
and  that  all  other  elements  are  subordi- 
nate to  it. 

A silhouette  is  naturally  supposed 
to  be  dark.  But  occasionally  there  are 
opportunities  for  introducing  a light 


GROUP  OF  BIRCHES.  (Fig.  23.)  Will  II.  Arnold. 

ouette  against  a dark  background,  as 


suggested  in  Diag.  17,  a moonlit  city  against  a dark  skv.  Of  course,  it  is 
really  constructed  on  the  same  principle,  as  the  outline  is  made  by  the  sky  as 
much  as  by  the  buildings. 


VILLA  ON  THE  ADRIATIC . (Fig-  20.)  Alexander  Mueller. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


Perfect  symmetry  is  not  often  met 
with  in  landscape  art.  Diagram  19 
represents  as  near  an  approach  to  it  as 
is  possible.  Of  course,  even  there 
the  forms  are  merely  similar  and  not 
exactly  alike.  Pictures  of  this  kind 
may  have  their  use  for  decorative  pur- 
poses, but  the  style  can  be  hardly  recom- 
mended for  faithful  reproductions  of 
nature.  The  theme  of  Diag.  19  is  one 
of  the  few  that  has  proven  successful, 
but  it  belongs  to  the  old  school  of 
composition  which  is  not  much  in  favor 
in  these  days.  Ecpially  decorative,  but 
entirely  modern  in  its  tendency  is  the 
parallelism  of  straight  lines.  It  is  of 
Japanese  origin.  Hiroshige,  one  of  the 
great  masters  of  landscape  design,  has 
MOON  RISE.  (Fig.  24.)  Julian  Ri.v.  based  some  of  his  best  work  on  simple 

line  ideas,  Diag.  15.  The  parallelism  of 
vertical  lines  is  the  most  popular  form.  It  is  more  pictorial  and  pleasing  to 
the  eye  than  the  parallelism  of  horizontal  lines.  Diagram  14  shows  a scheme 
that  has  been  repeatedly  used  by  Puvis  de  Chavannes  in  his  mural  decorations. 


THE  SOURCE  OF  THE  HOUSATONIC  (Fig.  26.) 


Geo.  A . Travers. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


EVENING  PEACE.  (Fig.  18.)  Paul  Dougherty. 


To  alternate  lines  of  different  width  and  length  will  always  prove  effective. 
There  is  a certain  rhythmical,  one  might  even  say  musical,  quality  to  it. 
J.  IT.  Field,  of  Berlin,  Wis.,  utilized  the  same  motif  in  his  “Decorative  Study.” 
You  will  notice  in  this  picture,  as  well  as  in  Diag.  14,  that  the  bases  of  the 
tree  trunks,  whenever  three  are  grouped  together,  form  a triangular  shape. 
It  lends  variety  to  the  uniformity  of  lines  and  a good  draughtsman  always  re- 
members this.  Also  the  photographer  should  pay  special  attention  to  this 
curious  detail  in  the  selection  of  his  subjects. 

The  parallelism  of  vertical  lines  is  specially  suited  for  woodland  scenes 
and  might  also  be  utilized  in  the  depiction  of  telegraph  poles  in  street  scenes 
and  on  country  roads,  or  of  ship  masts  ii:  wharf  scenes,  etc. 

The  parallelism  of  horizontal  lines  is  rarely  met  with.  As  few  horizontal 
lines  in  nature  are  exactly  parallel  a composition  carrying  out  this  scheme 
always  looks  a trifle  forced  and  rigid.  One  American  landscape  painter, 
D.  W.  Tryon,  is  one.  of  the  few  who  has  mastered  this  style.  His  line  idea  is 
somewhat  like  that  shown  in  diagram  13.  Of  course  they  are  not  absolutely 
straight  in  his  paintings,  but  many  run  in  a horizontal  direction.  Fig.  22  ex- 
emplifies this  principle.  You  can  count  in  it  about  eight  parallel  horizontal 
lines.  The  photographer  was  wise  in  selecting  the  upright  shape  for  this 


33 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


DECORATIVE  STUDY.  (Fig.  19.)  /.  H.  Field. 


experiment.  The  repetition  of  lines  would  prove  too  monotonous  in  an  ob- 
long. This  line  idea  resembles  the  horizontal  composition  of  Chapter  II,  with  the 
difference  that  it  breaks  up  the  dark  masses  into  horizontal  strata,  which  was 
not  the  case  in  the  Gay  picture,  Fig.  n. 

The  “Group  of  Birches,”  by  W.  H.  Arnold,  represents  a study  of  lines  of 
a vertical  tendency,  of  which  the  majority,  however,  have  a slant  or  an  un- 
dulating quality.  A cluster  of  trees  like  this  is  pleasing  to  the  eye,  but  does 
not  offer  sufficient  material  to  make  a picture.  The  interest  lies  entirely  in  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  tree  trunks.  There  is  no  sky  line,  no  point  of  interest, 
and  no  other  element  of  composition  to  relieve  the  jumble  of  lines. 

In  Alexander  Mueller’s  “Villa  on  the  Adriatic,”  we  have  the  parallelism 
of  slightly  undulating  lines  (shapes  or  silhouettes)  of  a vertical  tendency. 
The  lines  are  finely  selected  and  cut  the  space  into  a few  areas  of  beautiful 
proportions.  It  furthermore  applies  the  diagonal  principle  with  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  triangular  cut,  but  strange  to  say  has,  despite  its  elaborateness,  no 
decided  point  of  interest. 

The  readers  of  these  discussions  will  notice  that  I put  special  stress  upon 
the  elements  that  underly  the  beauty  of  representation.  The  clearer  your 
ideas  are  on  the  various  methods  of  construction  and  arrangement,  the  more 
beautiful  your  results  will  be.  In  selecting  a landscape,  carefully  study  the 
various  forms  of  nature  before  you,  and  determine  at  once  which  method  of 
composition  will  prove  the  most  advantageous  for  illustrating  it. 


34 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COM  DO  SIT  ION 


A FRENCH  VILLAGE.  (Fig.  27.)  George  Michel. 

Perhaps  the  easiest  and  most  practical  way  to  improve  one’s  judgment, 
whether  the  subject  or  the  scenery  before  him  contains  the  elements  of  a good 
picture  or  not,  is  to  follow  the  advice  which  the  painter,  William  M.  Chase, 
gives  to  his  pupils.  Make  a small  empty  frame  of  blackened  cardboard  or 
any  convenient  material;  carry  it  with  you  whenever  you  are  photographically 
inclined,  and  look  through  it  at  those  things  that  interest  you.  You  will  be- 
gin to  see  everything  in  pictures,  clean  cut  by  the  four  boundary  lines  of  the 
frame ; and  as  soon  as  you  move  the  frame  from  one  side  to  another,  all  nature 
will  seem  to  you  to  be  divided  into  innumerable  pictorial  fragments.  There  is 

a good  motif,  you  think;  so  ift  is,  but 
shift  the  frame  a little  to  the  right  or  to 
the  left  or  upwards  or  downwards.  As 
the  boundary  line  changes,  the  picture 
changes.  Do  you  like  it  better  now 
than  before?  If  the  fragment  of  nature 
which  you  see  through  the  frame  con- 
veys something  to  you,  well  and  good;  if 
lo  it  doesn’t,  try  again  with  another  part  of 
the  scene. 


35 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


This  is,  of  course,  a very  primitive  way  of  getting  at  the  laws  of  com- 
position, but  it  is  a very  reliable  one,  and  it  will  not  play  you  false  as  long  as 
you  have  confidence  enough  in  your  judgment.  Try  to  analyze  the  arrange- 
ment of  each  scene  into  parts,  into  lines,  planes,  and  the  gradations  of  one 
tone  into  the  other.  It  will  develop  and  perfect  your  own  faculties,  no  matter 
whether  you  are  a mere  beginner  or  an  accomplished  craftsman. 

Use  your  critical  acumen,  not  necessarily  to  find  fault  or  to  accept  as  in- 
fallible the  picture  before  you,  but  simply  to  develop  and  perfect  your  own 
faculties. 

If  you  want  to  go  deeper  into  the  subject  procure  a good  book  on  com- 
position and  study  it.  They  are  rather  scarce,  but  can  be  found.  The  two 
most  helpful  works  on  composition  at  the  disposal  of  the  American  landscape 
photographer  are  at  present,  “Pictorial  Composition,"  by  Henry  A.  Poore, 
and  “Composition,”  by  A.  W.  Dow. 


SILHOUETTE.  (Fig.  25.)  Paul  Fournier. 


36 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Seven  Line  Combinations. — The  Curve  and  Half  Cucles  The  Zigzag 
Line. — Space  Composition.  — Undulating  Lines.  Rhythm.  Odd 
Forms  of  Line  Conception.  - With  Fourteen  Illustrations  and  Nine 
Diagrams. 

LINE  is  either  straight  or  curved.  A straight  line  runs 
either  vertically,  horizontally,  or  diagonally  across  the 
picture.  A curved  line  can  not  be  so  easily  defined  and 
a large  part  of  this  paper  will  be  devoted  to  its  various 
forms.  But  it  also  can  run  only  in  three  directions, 
the  same  as  the  straight  line. 

Diagram  21  really  presents  all  line  combinations 
that  are  possible.  We  have  become  acquainted  with 
several  of  them.  A represents  the  rectangular  idea 
which  we  have  seen  in  lug.  16  and  the  parallelism  of 
vertical  lines ; B is  one  of  the  most  ordinary  forms. 
Any  hill,  mountain,  roof  of  a house,  or  diagonally  run- 
ning plane  cutting  into  the  horizontal  shows  the  char- 
acteristics of  this  combination.  “ Idle  Marshes,”  by 
lules  Dupre,  Fig.  29,  displays  the  three  undulating 
lines  of  C.  The  horizontal  one  frequently  occurs  in  clouds.  F is  similar  to 
C,  and  can  be  studied  111  any  hillside  covered  with  trees  or  shrubbery.  It  is  apt 


37 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


O 


m "4' 
W-;1 

' 


THE  MARSHES. 


^ i g.  29.) 


Jules  Dupre. 


■ '•  * * " 

. ■*£•*.  ,49*?  vt  pjfi 

, Vv  ■ •* 

i -v 

• •■ft*  ijr> 


Wr  - 

; • 4 : f/  / *-£■ 


'***-"-•  'j.JU 

■ viV^. w 


nut 

Jp  -'A 


( Fig.  40.) 


to  be  more  graceful  than  the  C combination. 
Of  course  the  diagonal  line  can  also  run  in 
the  direction  from  the  left  upper  to  the  right 
lower  corner  as  shown  in  the  dotted  line  of 
H,  and  in  Geo.  A.  Travers’  “Old  Road.” 
Rut  this  is  merely  a case  of  reversing  and 
not  a new  combination.  The  line  idea  D 
is  offered  in  C.  H.  White's  “Telegraph 
Poles."  Diag.  15  in  the  last  chapter,  car- 
ried out  the  same  principle.  “Highbridge,” 
by  H.  W.  Ranger,  shows  the  diagonal  line 
with  a horizontal  line  cutting  into  it.  Any 
headland  with  the  sea  behind,  or  hillside 
with  a valley  below  will  offer  a variation  of 
this  combination.  The  combination  of  G 
is  of  all  the  rarest  one.  Of  course  a wall 
or  tree  trunk  with  a bush  or  a stack  of  new 
mown  hay  could  produce  one  or  the  other 
variation  but  the  lines  do  not  go  well  to- 
gether. B,  D,  E,  and  F are  undoubtedly  the 
easiest  and  most  graceful  combinations. 

Every  one  of  these  combinations,  no 
doubt,  has  its  own  individuality,  i.  e.,  faculty 
of  expressing  certain  moods  of  nature  and 
the  human  mind.  Each  will  lend  itself  to 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


the  depiction  of  certain  subjects 
and  objects  better  than  others.  But 
the  scope  of  my  article  does  not 
permit  me  to  go  into  details,  nor 
would  be  much  gained  thereby.  I 
would  be  obliged  to  show  too 
many  examples,  which  would  only 
prove  confusing  to  the  reader.  I 
can  not  repeat  often  enough  that 
composition  can  not  be  taught. 
Only  a few  facts  can  be  given,  and 
hints  and  suggestions  how  to 
utilize  them. 

The  curve  and  half  circle,  as 
I will  endeavor  to  show,  are  merely 
variations  of  the  zigzag  line.  Fig. 
33  shows  a clever  use  of  the  half 
circle  but  it  is  really  a variation 
of  Diag.  25.  In  Diag.  22  I show 
the  half  circle  with  its  dotted  ex- 
tension that  can  easily  be  traced 


OLD  ROAD.  (Fig.  28.)  Geo.  A.  Travers. 


in  the  photograph.  The  same  is  the  case 
with  Bullock’s,  “The  Brook."  The  be- 
ginning of  the  curve  formed  by  the  trees 
on  the  hillside  is  taken  up  and  finished  by 
the  brook.  It  has  a beautiful  bold  sweep, 
but  if  analyzed  it  will  show  that  it  is  noth- 
ing else  but  the  part  of  a zigzag  line.  Also 
the  “Cazenovia  Creek,”  by  Paul  Fournier, 
a composition  which  utilizes  the  double 
undulation,  so  familiar  in  brook  pictures, 
in  a novel  manner  has  the  zigzag  line  as 
fundamental  principle. 

The  zigzag  line,  equivalent  to  the  A 
line  of  other  writers  on  composition,  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  useful  and  pliable  of  all 
lines.  It  has  a vague  resemblance  to  the 
letter  .S'  (Diag.  25  and  26)  but  it  is  more 
crushed,  flattened  out  in  appearance.  And 


39 


HIGH  BRIDGE.  ( Figr.  30. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


the  more  flattened  out  it  is 
the  better  it  is  in  most 
cases  for  the  composition 
(viz.  Fig.  5).  It  is  the 
most  important  factor  in 
space  composition.  It  is 
apt  to  break  up  the  whole 
picture  into  triangular  cuts 
(big.  32)  -which  if  rightly 
balanced  lend  a rare  pic- 
turesque quality  to  the  ob- 
jects depicted.  In  Fig.  32 
you  will  notice  four  dis- 
tinct triangular  cuts.  In 
big.  36  by  Yarnall  Abbott 
there  are  even  more  but 
they  are  more  broken  and 
cut  up  and  subdued  by 
clever  differentiation  o f 
tones. 

The  zigzag  line  is  one 
of  the  great  principles  of 
Japanese  art.  It  recurs 
oftener  than  any  other. 

The  kakemono  painting  bv 
Hoyen  (Fig.  40)  is  typical 
of  Japanese  landscape  art. 

They  consider  the  shape 
so  beautiful  that  they  use 
it  without  any  embellish- 
ment. It  stands  by  itself. 

As  we  are  not  masters  of 
silhouetting  (photographically  speaking),  as  the  Japanese,  we  do  not  dare  to 
use  the  zigzag  in  its  isolated  form,  but  can  merely  apply  it  as  a vehicle  of 
space  composition. 

The  undulating  line  as  long  as  it  runs  horizontally  as  in  Diag.  23  is  an  in- 
dependent medium  of  expression.  It  is  a beautiful  reproducer  of  sky  lines 
and  undulating  ground  and  the  waves  of  the  sea.  But  when  it  runs  in  a ver- 
tical or  rather  diagonal  direction  across  the  picture  (Diag.  24)  it  easily  as- 
sumes a zigzag  tendency,  of  course  with  modifications.  The  undulating  line 
consist  not  so  much  of  clear  sweeping  curves,  but  of  short  curves,  sudden 
breaks,  darts,  bends,  and  undulations,  continually  changing  their  direction. 
Only  the  underlying  form  will  vaguely  resemble  the  S-shape  and  simply  for 
the  reason  that  S-shape  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  forms  known  to  pictorial 
composition.  The  photographer  with  good  taste  will  involuntarily  and  un- 
consciously select  his  line  idea.  Figs.  38  and  39  by  Rudolf  Eickemeyer,  one 


TELEGRAPH  POLES.  (Fig.  31.)  C.H.  White. 


41 


THE  BROOK. 


[Fig-  34-] 


John  T.  Bullock, 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


of  our  great  American  land- 
scape photographers,  shows 
an  excellent  applicating  of 
the  undulating  line.  “The 
Summer  Morning,”  Fig.  38, 
with  its  high  sky  line,  its  point 
of  interest  way  up  near  the 
horizon  and  the  large  empty 
space  below  is  a composition 
strictly  Japanese  in  character. 
The  sky  line  in  space  com- 
position is  generally  placed 
rather  high,  the  treatment  de- 
mands it,  as  one  of  the  princi- 
pal charms  of  space  composi- 
tion consists  in  large  planes 
without  much  differentiation 
of  tone.  There  must  be  made 
room  for  them.  Also  the 
point  of  interest  is  much 
nearer  to  the  edge  of  the  pic- 
ture than  in  other  composi- 
tions. What  we  want  in 
space  arrangement  is  not 
merely  the  suggestion  of 


LONELY  BIRCH  TREE.  LF'g-33-J  Paul  Fournier. 


CAZENOVIA  CREEK . 


[Fig.  41.] 


Paul  Fournier. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


SNOW  SCENE.  LFig-  32-]  Paul  Fournier. 


circular  forms.  In  'both  pictures  the  zigzag 
shape  controls  the  flow  of  the  undulating  lines. 
It  is  equally  palpable  in  the  ruts  of  the  snow-cov- 
ered road  by  Yarnall  Abbott,  Fig.  37.  As  I have 
said  before  there  is  no  escape  from  it  as  long  as 
you  make  use  of  undulating  lines. 

The  beauty  of  a line  analyzed  in  detail  de- 
pends largely  on  accentuation.  Diag.  29  will 
explain  what  I mean  by  accentuation.  It  is 
the  same  as  in  Diag.  23.  There  it  is  through- 
out of  equal  strength,  and  looks  rather  bold. 
In  Diag-.  29  the  same  line  gains  life  and  ex- 
pression by  the  introduction  of  a few  dark  ac- 
cents or  spots.  This  produces  what  painters 
call  rhythm.  Study  the  various  illustrations  of 
this  article,  and  you  will  see  how  a line  is  im- 
proved by  a few  dark  or  light  accents.  There 
is  no  emphasis  whatever  in  the  curves  in  F'igs. 
33  and  41.  They  are  deficient  in  that  respect. 
In  Figs.  32  and  39  there  are  highlights  as  well 


space  but  actual  large  areas  of 
space  of  beautiful  proportion 
on  the  surface  of  the  picture. 
Fig.  39  is  a clever  combination 
of  the  parallelism  of  vertical 
line  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
picture  and  two  undulating 
lines  dividing  the  lower  space. 
The  latter  contains  few  tri- 
angular forms  but  rather  half 


[Fig-  35-] 


44 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  BROOK — WINTER.  [Fig-.  36.]  C.  Yarnall  Abbott. 


as  dark  spots  which  help  the  rhythm  of  the  lines.  Particularly  fortunate  in 
this  respect  are  Pigs.  34  and  38.  In  Fig.  34  where  the  line  is  rather  suggested 
than  actually  seen,  the  shadows  of  the  trees  almost  produce  a break  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  curve,  and  it  is  continued  by  contrast  of  tone  in  the  stones  and  sur- 
face of  the  water.  Fig.  38  represents  a clever  and  originally  conceived  line 
which  is  accentuated  by  white.  The  end  of  the  line  at  the  left  side  of  the  pic- 
ture is  particularly  happy. 

There  are  quite  a number  of  oddly  shaped  lines  that  can  not  easily  be 
classified.  We  are  slowly  adapting  them  from  Eastern  art.  Any  photographer 
who  will  take  the  trouble  of  studying  the  colored  woodcuts  of  Hokusai  and 
Hiroshige  will  find  ample  material  for  new  and  startling  conceptions.  Diag. 
2 7,  a clear  curve,  supported  by  two  rectangles  has  become  familiar  to  all 
of  us  through  Whistler’s  famous  “Battersea  Bridge.”  Nothing  simpler  and 


45 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


A SUMMER  MORNING.  [Fig.  38.]  Rudolph  Eicketneyer,  Jr. 

more  beautiful  can  be  imagined,  but  it  is  difficult  to  imitate,  as  there  are  few  ob- 
jects suitable  for  this  kind  of  treatment. 

Another  curious  effect  can  be  obtained  by  applying  the  line  of  Diag.  28. 

The  objects  of  the  foreground 
form  an  irregular  frame  for  the 
vista  beyond.  Hokusai  shows  us 
the  effect  of  it  in  one  of  his  pic- 
tures, Fig.  35. 

It  would  be  easy  to  take  a few 
Japanese  prints  from  Hiroshige’s 
Fifty-three  Stations  of  the  Tokaido 
or  Hokusai’s  Hundred  Views  of 
Fusiyama  and  show  you  several 

46 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


FEBRUARY.  (Fig.  37.)  C.  Y.  Abbott. 

other  novel  line  arrangements.  Bnt  I do  not  wish  to  assume  the  part  of 
an  innovator.  I could  merely  point  them  out  and  would  not  know  whether 
they  are  really  applicable  to  our  ideas  of  art.  A writer  on  composition 
can  only  prove  his  case  'by  analyzing  typical  and  standard  forms  whose 
importance  has  been  determined  by  frequent  application.  The  usefulness  of 
new  conceptions  is  a matter  of  experiment  and  must  be  left  entirely  to  the 
artists  and  craftsmen  of  the  camera. 

The  simplest  subjects  are  always  the  best.  Any  person  with  his  eyes 
open,  and  with  sympathy  for  the  time,  place,  and  conditions  in  which  he 
lives,  has  only  to  take  a walk  or  to  board  a trolley,  to  find  a picture  worthy  of 
depiction.  A survey  of  your  own  neighborhood  may  prove  as  profitable  as 
the  farthest  excursion. 

Should  you  ever  have  the  opportunity  to  get  hold  of  one  of  Constable’s 
sketch  books  you  will  see  that  he  seized  upon  the  simplest  things.  Here  he  is 


47 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


LATE  AFTERNOON  IN  WINTER.  [Fig.  39.] 


Rudolph  Eickemeycr,  Jr. 


charmed  by  a group  of  trees,  there  by  a farmhouse  rising  upon  a lonely  hill.  A 
bit  of  pasture,  haystacks,  a deserted  cottage,  or  a path  losing  itself  in  a field 
was  sufficient  to  attract  him.  However,  insignificant  the  motives  were,  he 
understood  how  to  imbue  them  with  character  and  atmosphere,  and  often  the 
simplest  sketch  sufficed  him  to  suggest  poetry  and  space. 


48 


CHAPTER  V. 


A Method  of  Spotting. — A Definition  of  Tone.  A Light  and  Shade 
Composition. — Repetition.  — With  Eleven  Illustrations  and  Four 
Diagrams. 

I the  last  chapter  I have  shown  how  a line  can  he  emphasized 
by  accentuating  any  part  of  it  by  a light  or  dark  spot.  The  same 
may  be  accomplished  in  a plane,  or  even  an  entire  picture  (as 
has  become  customary  of  late)  by  the  introduction  of  larger  dots 
and  shapes  generally  of  a dark  tonality. 

In  color  it  is  more  effective  than  in  black  and  white,  but  even 
in  monochrome  one  might  get  certain  decorative  results.  Composi- 
tions of  this  kind  are  generally  divided  into  several  clearly  defined 
shapes  of  flat  tones  (rather  than  gradations)  and  the  dark  spots  are  placed 
where  they  look  most  effective.  The  dark  spots  should  never  assume  large 
proportions,  nor  can  they  be  of  very  small  or  equal  size.  A feeling 
of  restlessness  is  produced  in  the  human  eye  by  a group  of  small  dark 
spots  (Diag.  30).  They  only  grow  into  a harmony  if  arranged  in  some 
geometrical  shape  (Diag.  31).  Of  two  comparatively  large  dark  (or  light) 
shapes  one  should  always  be  subordinated  to  the  other  one,  although  in 
most  cases,  it  is  not  necessarily  the  smaller  one.  In  Diag.  32  the  shape  which 
occupies  the  smaller  area  also  looks  the  smallest.  But  in  Fig.  33  where  it  is 
a trifle  larg'er  one  is  in  doubt  which  is  the  most  important.  There  is  not 
enough  difference  between  the  two  shapes. 


49 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


CONNECTICUT  HILLS.  [Fig.  42.]  W.  H.  Paddock. 


Two  excellent  examples  of  this  method  of  spotting  are  the  two  paintings, 
“Connecticut  Hills”  (Fig.  42),  and  “The  Valley”  (Fig.  43),  by  W.  H.  Pad- 
dock,  one  of  our  younger  American  landscapists.  I myself  do  not  fancy  this  style 
particularly,  as  it  conventionalizes  form  too  much.  It  does  not  show  nature’s 
forms  as  they  are,  but  trims  them  like  an  Italian  landscape  gardener  to  obtain 
a certain  effect.  For  decorative  purposes  it  is  excellent  and  might  be  used 
with  modification  in  landscape  photography.  It  would  add  one  valuable  quality 
which  is  generally  absent  in  photographic  landscape,  and  that  is  color.  The 
different  shapes  should  be  in  different  tonal  degrees  of  black  (brown  or  gray) 
as  in  Fig-.  42,  and  always  flat  tinted.  There  are  too  many  of  them  in  Fig.  42 
and  their  shapes  are  not  decided  enough.  Fig-.  43  is  much  better.  Two  or 
three  shapes  interesting  in  outline  will  do  the  trick  as  well  as  a dozen.  There 
are  five  tints  used  in  this  picture.  The  darkest  note  is  furnished  by  the  tree 
in  the  right  foreground.  A slightly  lighter  shade  is  introduced  for  the 
second  tree.  The  rest  of  the  picture  is  composed  in  three  flat  tones.  One, 
the  lightest  one,  for  the  sunlight  on  the  plain , hillside,  and  clouds.  A 
second  one  for  the  remainder  of  the  sky,  the  shadows  on  the  hill  and  the 
foreground.  The  third  for  the  Shrubbery  in  the  foreground  and  some  dark 
hills  in  the  distance. 


5° 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  V ALLEY . [Fig-  43-]  W.  H.  Paddock. 


This  picture  furnishes  a lesson  in  tone  values  as  well  as  for  spotting,  but 
it  is  not  exactly  a picture  of  which  we  would  say  that  it  is  perfect  “in  tone.’’ 
By  tone  we  mean  to-day  a picture  that  is  composed  in  one  key,  that  has  one 
tint,  generally  a middle  tint  or  darker  one,  diffused  throughout  the  entire  com- 
position. If  w^e  look  at  it  we  want  to  feel  at  once  the  special  monochrome  tint 
that  is  predominating,  combines  all  masses  and  spots  without  clearly  separating 
them.  The  outlines,  in  such  pictures  are  fused,  the  planes  run  together,  con- 
trast is  sacrificed,  and  details  are  lost.  Strong  light  and  shade  differentiation 
is  impossible  in  such  a picture,  and  the  “Wood  Interior’’  would  be  con- 
sidered to  be  “out  of  tone"  by  all  photographic  tonalists.  It  contains  a too 
strong  contrast  of  black  and  white,  and  entirely  too  many  light  spots.  Fig. 
46,  “Around  Germantown,"  a charming  composition  by  one  of  our 
veteran  amateurs  is  quite  subdued  in  tone,  but  it  has  not  yet  reached  the 
(in  my  opinion  somewhat  doubtful)  distinction  of  being  a tone  picture. 
There  is  still  too  much  detail  and  the  sky  is  too  light  for  the  extremists 
Their  ideal  is  expressed  in  prints  like  the  “Ipswich  Bridge,’’  by  A.  L.  Coburn, 
and  “The  Pool,"  by  E.  Steichen.  Fig.  48  is  the  better  picture  of  the  two. 
The  objects  still  show  some  clear  definition,  and  it  has  uniformity  and  tone. 
In  Fig-.  51  everything  is  blurred,  and  represented  in  two  tones  that  do  not 
blend  as  well  as  they  might  do. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


WOOD  INTERIOR.  [Fig.  4o.] 


Julian  Rix. 


What  the  extreme  tonalists  strive 
for,  in  most  instances,  is  merely  a 
fragmentary  accomplishment.  It  is 
not  tone  in  the  large  sense  as  the  Old 
Masters  or  all  good  painters  under- 
stood it.  To  Titian,  Rembrandt,  and 
Velasquez  tone  meant  a combination 
of  all  pictorial  qualities,  the  contrast 
of  color  (not  subdued  but  used  in  full 
strength),  the  balance  of  lighter  and 
darker  planes,  the  line  conception,  the 
arrangement  of  accessories  subordi- 
nated to  the  principal  figures ; all 
these  qualities  together  produced 
tone.  They  did  not  sacrifice  form  and 
detail,  correct  drawing,  the  physiog- 
nomy, of  faces  and  aspect  to  this  one 
achievement  of  a uniform  tonality. 

What  the  extreme  tonalist  sees 
in  tones  is  merely  the  appearance  of 
old  age.  The  old  masters  have  be- 
come famous,  and  the  public  has  acquired  a certain  predilection  for  dark- 
toned  pictures.  The  photographers  and  some  painters  try  to  reproduce  it, 
overlooking  (perhaps  wilfully)  that  the  dark  tonality  is  almost  entirely  an 
artificial  product,  by  dirt  and  dampness,  the  chemical  action  of  light,  and  the 
gradual  change  of  color,  oil,  and  varnish. 

A light  and  shade  composition  is 
much  more  interesting.  But  it  is 
rarely  attempted  nowadays.  Photog- 
raphers seem  to  be  afraid  of  it. 

Stieglitz  in  his  early  days,  before  he 
became  the  fanatic  champion  of  the 
tonal  school,  recognized  the  beauty 
of  it.  “The  Old  Mill"  (Fig.  47),  is 
a charming  study  of  sunlight  and 
shadow.  Anybody  fond  of  contrast 
will  like  such  pictures.  The  contrast 
of  black  and  white,  if  well  arranged, 
gives  strength  and  depth  to  a picture. 

And  every  clear  day  offers  similar 
chances,  provided  the  object  depicted 
has  sufficient  planes  to  throw  interest- 
ing shadows.  Coburn  also  considers 
his  “Ipswich  Bridge”  a light  and 
shade  composition.  It  is  an  attempt 
at  it,  a twilight  version.  But  in  a 


AROUND  GERMANTOWN. 

[Fig.  46.] 


F.  G.  Bullock. 


52 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


dim  or  dull  atmosphere  a virile  light 
and  shade  composition,  that  really  con- 
veys w hat  the  words  signify,  becomes  an 
impossibility. 

Nearly  all  the  great  landscape  paint- 
ers of  the  past  made  with  preference 
light  and  shade  compositions.  Look  at 
the  “Windmills,”  by  George  Michel. 

I low  the  light  plays  on  the  foreground, 
how  it  floods  the  sky  and  distant  plain 
in  strange  contrast  to  the  dark  wind- 
mills on  the  hills.  The  light  effects  im- 
bue the  painting  with  a strange  vitality 
and  variety  of  expression.  Every  detail 
is  there  and  carefully  arranged  and  ex- 
ecuted and  yet  all  objects  depicted,  lines, 
spots,  and  masses,  by  means  of  the  sim- 
ple diagonal  composition,  careful  sil- 
houetting, spacing  and  balancing,  pull 
together  and  reproduce  a oneness  of  tone  ipsutch  bridge.  [Fig.  4s.]  a.  l.  Coburn. 
as  well  as  in  any  “tonal  composition. 

See  for  yourself  how  monotonous  some  of  the  other  illustrations  look ; there 
is  no  life  in  them.  Even  Figs.  42  and  45  lack  animation,  while  Figs.  46,  48, 

51  lock  dull  and  sad.  Fig.  49  is  not  well  composed,  there  is  no  leading  line, 

and  no  clever  separation  of  light 
and  shadow. 

A valuable  adjunct  to  pictorial 
composition  can  also  be  found  in  the 
element  of  repetition.  This  is  un- 
like the  parallelism  of  tree  trunks, 
telegraph  poles,  columns,  etc.,  as  ex- 
plained in  Chapter  111,  which  merely 
represents  a recurrence  of  line.  By 
repetition  I mean  the  recurrence  of 
distinct  forms  and  shapes,  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  picture,  generally 
in  diagonal  line  upwards  or  down- 
wards towards  the  horizon  lines. 
Figs.  44,  45,  and  51  are  all  three 
good  examples  of  this  principle. 
Nearly  every  painter  of  Holland 
scenes  has  treated  the  windmill  in 
a similar  way.  The  odd  shape  of  a 
windmill  seems  to  gain  in  interest 
by  repetition.  It  was  wise,  however, 
the  pool.  [Fig.  51.]  E.  Stricken,  to  show  only  two;  they  convey 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


CORNSTALKS.  [Fig.  41.]  Paul  Fournier. 

the  idea  as  well  as  three,  and  four  would  be  entirely  too  much.  Peculiar 
strongly  characteristic  shapes  do  not  lend  themselves  to  repetition  as  easily  as 
simple  forms,  for  instance  as  the  triangular  cornstalks  in  Paul  Fournier’s  Fig. 
44.  This  is  an  excellent  composition.  I believe  nearly  every  amateur  has 
tackled  this  subject  one  or  another  time  in  his  career,  but  I have  seldom  seen  it  as 


54 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


LANDSCAPE. 


[Fig.  52.] 


Ludwig  Dill. 


THE  OLD  MILL.  [Fig.  47. 1 Alfred  S tie glitz. 


well  represented  as  in  this  case. 
Notice  how  cleverly  repetition  is 
managed  by  the  grouping  of  three 
together,  evading  the  empty  gap  be- 
tween, and  in  the  different  slant  in 
the  last  stack.  Only  this  makes  the 
repetition  agreeable  to  the  eye.  Ex- 
ceedingly fortunate  is  also  the  in- 
troduction of  the  light  tinted  tri- 
angular cut  in  the  sky  which  is  really 
nothing  but  a repetition  of  the  form 
of  the  largest  stack  at  the  right. 

In  the  “Windswept  Trees,”  by 
Paul  Dougherty  we  have  a repeti- 
tion of  tree  forms  which  is  quite 
unusual.  The  line  work  is  very 
good.  The  repetition  occurs  within 
the  shape  of  a triangular  cut.  But 
I fear  this  device  alone  would  not 
have  proved  sufficient  as  the  trees 
are  too  much  alike.  By  the  clever 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


WINDSWEPT  TREES.  [Fig-  45-]  Paul  Dougherty. 


introduction  of  the  tree  in  the  middle  and  the  small  tree  at  the  extreme 
left,  both  of  similar  shape,  lie  has  produced  a horizontal  suggestion  which  cuts 
into  the  lower  diagonal  line,  and  two  accents  of  foliage  forms  which  break  the 
monotony  of  the  upper  line. 

In  the  “Landscape,”  by  Ludwig  Dill,  spotting  is  used  as  a minor  attribute 
in  the  light  foliage  patches.  This  is  particularly  interesting  as  an  odd  com- 
bination of  various  forms  of  composition.  Aside  of  repetition,  it  represents 
spotting,  the  parallelism  of  vertical  lines,  the  low  horizon  line,  the  vista 
idea,  a sweeping  curve  in  the  brook,  and  the  clever  use  of  silhouetting  to 
produce  interesting  shapes  between  the  tree  trunks. 


56 


CHAPTER  VI 


The  Placing  of  Figures  in  Landscapes. — Street  Scenes.— Cattle  Pictures. 

Impressionism.- — Unpaintable  or  Strictly  Photographic  Subjects.  With 

Eleven  Illustrations  and  One  Diagram. 

IGURES  are  introduced  in  landscapes  either  as  technical 
embellishments  or  to  express  some  sentiment  that  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  technique  of  the  picture. 

Figures  are  good  vehicles  of  accentuation.  They  mean 
more  than  any  shape  of  an  inanimate  object  as  they  appeal 
directly  to  our  mind.  The  little  figure  in  “The  Brush- 
burner"  (Fig.  54),  is  merely  a spot,  but  it  makes  the  pic- 
ture by  giving  a meaning  to  it.  It  would  be  rather  un- 
interesting without  it.  The  same  is  the  case  with  Horatio 
Walker’s  “Tree  Fellers  at  Work.”  (Fig.  6o).  Remove 
the  two  men  and  the  picture  would  look  absolutely  bald  and  empty.  In  F'ig. 
55,  “The  Road  to  Paradise,"  by  F.  L.  Stoddard,  it  is  different.  Although  the 
two  figures  are  indispensable  to  carry  out  the  idea  of  the  title,  the  land- 
scape is  beautiful  enough  to  stand  on  its  own  merit.  The  figures  are  strictly 
accessories.  And  that  is  the  proper  way.  If  a figure  is  too  prominent  in  a 
landscape,  the  latter  is  no  longer  a landscape  but  a figure  composition  with  a 
landscape  background. 

The  boundary  line  between  landscape  and  figure  composition  is  sometimes 
difficult  to  determine.  Size  is  the  best  regulator.  Corot  in  most  instances  in- 
troduced figures  merely  as  color  dots,  very  small  in  size  and  yet  so  clearly 


57 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


F.  Kost. 


defined  that  they  lend  poetry  to  his 
paintings.  Frequently  they  were 
merely  as  large  as  the  figures  in  the 
distance  of  Fig.  62. 

There  is  a certain  fundamental 
law  of  relative  proportions  in  re- 
gard to  this  that  every  craftsman 
should  know.  Draw  in  your  ob- 
long or  upright  (Diag.  34)  two 
diagonal  lines  from  corner  to  cor- 
ner. This  will  give  you  the  center 
of  the  picture.  Divide  one-half  of 
one  of  the  diagonal  lines  (a — c)  into 
three  equal  parts ; a — b is  the  result,  ' 
and  that  is  the  maximum  length  for 
any  figure  in  that  particular  pic- 
ture, represented  by  the  heavy  ver- 
tical line.  You  will  notice  that  the 
figures  in  pictures  54,  55,  56,  62  are 
in  right  relation  with  the  size  of  the 
composition.  In  Fig.  60  they  are  a trifle  too  large.  This  picture  is  really  a 
figure  composition.  In  uprights  the  figures  may  be  slightly  taller  without  be- 
coming over-conspicuous.  The  relation  of  a figure  in  an  upright  to  that  in  an 
oblong  is  about  1 — 3/-.. 

Too  minute  figures  are  better  left  out.  The  tiny  shape  in  Fig.  58  is  mean- 
ingless. Large  figures  should  be  made  considerably  larger  than  the  maxi- 
mum length  for  landscape  so  that  they  really  become  the  controlling  force  in 
the  composition.  Nearly  all  the 
figures  in  our  illustration  express 
some  sort  of  sentiment,  the  boy 
with  horses  in  Fig.  62,  the  joy  of 
going  bathing  on  a summer  day,  the 
brush  burner  expresses  his  pictur- 
esque occupation,  the  two  draped 
figures  in  Fig.  55,  a strictly  poetic 
sentiment,  and  the  various  pedestri- 
ans in  Childe  Hassam’s  “Church,  St. 

Germain,”  typical  frequenters  of  a 
quiet  Paris  square.  Even  in  these 


BRUSH  BURNER.  [Fig.  54. 


pictures,  excepting  Fig 
figures  furnish  an  almost 


too  con- 
spicuous part  of  the  composition. 

Street  scenes,  of  course,  need 
figures.  They  are  a part  of  them 
as  much  as  windows  and  doors.  Try 
to  separate  the  figures  as  much  as 


ROAD  TO  PARADISE.  [Fig.  55.]  F.  L.  Stoddard. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


TREE  FELLERS  A T WORK.  [Fig.  60.]  Horatio  Walker. 


possible,  have  for  instance  several  single  figures,  place  between  them  two  that 
stand  or  walk  together,  repeat  their  shape  somewhere  else,  and  have  another 
group  of  three  or  more.  Look  at  them  as  spots,  apply  the  law  or  repetition 
and  arrange  them  very  much  the  same  way  as  you  would  parallel  tree  trunks. 
The  Lorenz  picture  (Fig.  62)  shows  clever  handling  in  that  respect.  Notice 
one  large  and  one  small  shape  in  the  foreground,  two  similar  ones  on  the  mid- 
dle distance,  and  four  small  shapes  * * * * in  the  distance. 

With  cattle  it  is  very  much  the  same  way  as  with  human  figures.  The 
shapes  are  dififerent  and  they  are  oftener  of  lighter  color,  but  it  remains  the 
same  principle. 

As  soon  as  there  are  groups,  however,  like  a herd  of  sheep  for  instance, 
the  proposition  becomes  a dififerent  one.  Then  it  is  best  to  introduce  them 
as  a geometrical  shape  or  line.  Chaigneau’s  “Evening”  is  a good  example 
of  this  treatment.  The  sheep  form  a sort  of  triangle  and  could  easily  assume 
the  shape  of  a triangular  cut  or  a perfect  zigzag  line,  and  I think  it  would 
have  made  a better  picture  if  that  were  the  case.  The  picture  carries  out  the 
rectangular  line  idea,  and  the  tree  trunks  are  cleverly  accentuated  bv  the 
vertical  shape  of  the  shepherd.  Cows  can  easily  be  grouped  in  elliptical  form, 
horses  in  repetition  of  shapes,  and  sheep  roaming  over  the  hills  in  curves  and 
undulating  lines. 


59 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


City  scenes  without  any  con- 
spicuous figures  we  have  in  Chas. 
H.  Needham’s  “Mott  Haven  Canal,” 
Fig.  57,  and  Prescott  Adamson’s 
“Midst  Stream  and  Smoke,”  Fig.  58. 
The  photograph  is  better  than  the 
painting.  It  is  a much  finer  and 
clearer  composition.  He  applied 
the  diagonal  composition  with  a 
parallelism  of  slanting  lines  and  ver- 
ticals, peculiar  to  the  subject,  in  a 
most  convincing  manner.  The  best 
mediums  for  street  scenes,  are  either 
the  rectangular  idea,  or  a combination  of  diagonals  and  verticals ; parallelism 
and  repetition  will  be  found  indispensable  for  the  treatment  of  ornamentation. 
Fig.  57  is  too  much  of  a jumble.  There  are  no  leading  lines,  they  all  in- 
terfere with  each  other.  Perhaps  it  is  the  fault  of  the  subject.  There  are 
many  subjects  that  can  be  photographed  but  somehow  evade  the  laws  of  pic- 
torial composition. 

Impressionism  has  tried  to  overthrow  many  of  the  older  forms  of 
composition  and  in  a way  has  been  successful.  It  has  championed  a 
certain  lawlessness,  a disregard  for  perspective  and  chiaroscura,  and 
standard  forms  of  construction,  and 
laid  special  stress  upon  spacing,  sil- 
houetting, and  the  reproduction  of 
sunlight.  The  impressionists  claim 
that  nature's  forms  in  themselves 
are  compositions,  and  that  the  best 
paintings  are  those  that  simply  re- 
peat in  color  what  is  seen  by  the 
human  eye.  Ernest  Lawson’s  “Fort 
George”  is  such  a production.  It 
is  confused  enough.  It  is  surely  no 
masterpiece  of  composition  and 
yet  it  follows  out  certain  ideas 
of  composition  in  a vague  hap- 
hazard manner.  Why  the  white  horse 
in  the  foreground?  Surely,  not 
merely  because  it  happened  to  pass 
by  when  the  painter  painted  the  pic- 
ture, but  rather  as  a balancing  note 
for  the  white  pole,  railing,  and 
swing  stand.  And  why  the  repeti- 
tion of  tree  forms  and  the  vertical 


SUMMERTIME.  [Fig.  62.]  Richard  Lorenz. 


and  horizontal  lines?  I believe, 
there  is  as  much  composition  in 


CHURCH,  ST.  GERMAIN. 

[Fig.  56-1 


Cliilde  Hassam. 


60 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


good  impressionistic  pictures  as  in 
any  others.  They  carry  out  the 
Japanese  idea,  that  every  flower 
and  every  tree  has  its  own  peculiar 
rhythm  and  linear  beauty,  and  that 
in  painting  a birch  tree  for  instance, 
you  should  depict  these  qualities 
that  are  intrinsically  its  own.  In 
other  words,  let  the  scene  itself 
which  you  wish  to  depict  determine 
your  composition.  This  is  just  re- 
verse of  the  other  method,  to  find 
a subject  suitable  for  the  special 
treatment  and  idea  of  composition 
which  you  have  in  your  mind  pre- 
vious to  seeing  the  subject.  Both 
methods  have  their  advantages  and 
disadvantages. 

If  you  had  all  the  intricacies 
of  composition  at  your  fingers’  ends  evening 
ready  for  immediate  use,  it  would  be 
safe  enough  to  apply  the  impressionist  method. 

In  some  instances,  however,  it  is  the  only 


[Fig-.  6 1 .] 

But  who  has? 
method  available. 


Chaigneau. 


The  im- 


MIDST  STEAM  AND  SMOKE. 


[Fig.  58.J 


Prescott  Adamson. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


FORT  GEORGE;  EARLY  SPRING.  E.La % 
[Fig-  65  ] 


WINTER. 


[Fig-  5$- 


R.  Eickemeyer , Jr. 

it 


pressionist  painters  assert  that  every  subject  is  paintable.  I beg  to  differ, 
is  photographable  perhaps,  but  not  paintable.  Foreground  studies  like  Fig. 
59,  by  R.  Eickemeyer  and  atmospheric  effects,  like  “The  Storm,”  by  J.  A. 
Hood,  are  unsuited  for  painting.  They  are  too  fragmentary.  Look  for  in- 


MOTT  HAVEN  CANAL. 


[Fig-  57-] 
62 


C.  A.  Needham. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  STORM.  [Fig.  53.]  F.  A.  Hood. 


stance  at  the  branches  of  some  larger  tree  (outside  the  pictorial  surface  repre- 
sented) that  intrudes  upon  the  composition.  Would  any  painter  leave  them 
just  as  they  are?  Not  even  the  most  rampant  impressionist  would  do  it.  And 
yet  the  picture  has  a charm  of  its  own.  Eickemeyer’s  foreground  studies  are 
never  without  composition.  And  yet  one  could  not  talk  of  composition  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word.  A draughtsman  would  try  to  correct  or  rather 
emphasize  the  beauty  of  certain  lines.  But  they  really  do  not  need  it. 

It  may  be  possible  that  there  are  some  new  laws  of  beauty  hidden  in 
these  strictly  photographic  subjects  or  that  old  ones  have  become  almost  un- 
recognizable under  some  new  disguise.  I wish  photographers  would  give  this 
argument  some  serious  thought.  To  depict  subjects  which  only  the  camera 
can  depict  and  yet  render  them  esthetically  satisfactory  would  be  indeed  a feat 
worth  accomplishing.  I believe  Stieglitz  had  something  like  this  in  his  cranium 
years  ago,  but  it  has  all  evaporized.  Surely  some  other  photographic  worker 
must  have  similar  ideas.  Photography  should  do  primarily  that  which  it  can 
do  easiest  and  best,  what  is  most  original  and  individual  to  its  media  of  ex- 
pression. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Different  Principles  of  Representation. — The  Circle,  Triangle,  Rhomboid, 
and  Sharp  angle.— The  Shape  of  the  Human  Figure. — Its  Controlling 
Line. — With  Nine  Illustrations  and  Six  Diagrams. 


IGURE  composition  is  more  difficult  to  master  than 
landscape  composition.  The  reasons  are  various. 
A figure  composition  is  a combination  of  two  ef- 
fects; the  delineation  of  the  figure,  and  the  back- 
ground which  in  most  cases  is  a representation  of 
some  interior  or  out-of-door  scene.  Furthermore, 
figures  do  not  compose  as  easily  as  a bit  of  scenery. 
They  have  to  be  posed  (to  say  nothing  of  finding 
first  the  adequate  models),  brought  into  special  re- 
lation to  each  other  and  the  background,  and  im- 
bued with  some  idea  that  is  more  definite,  ambitious,  and  varied  than  those 
that  can  be  conveyed  by  landscapes. 

Figure  delineation  is  one  of  the  great  art  expressions,  while  landscape 
representation  is  merely  a branch  of  the  pictorial  arts.  As  I have  only  six 
chapters  left  to  treat  the  subject,  I 


would  nigh  despair  at  the  very 
start,  if  there  were  no  way  of 
simplification.  Photographic  figure 
delineation  is  still  exceedingly 
limited.  Every  honest  camera 
worker  has  to  admit  this.  For  that 
reason  it  is  of  no  use  to  talk  of 
elaborate  compositions  and  master- 
pieces of  paintings  that  are  impossi- 
ble to  photography.  The  ambitious 
amateur  might  aspire  to  making 
pictures  like  F.  El.  Tompkins’  “In 
the  Church,"  Eastman  Johnson’s 
“Embers,”  A.  Seifert’s  “Hypatia,” 
or  even  Albert  Thomas’  “Hymn 
to  Selene,”  but  he  would  never 
dream  of  attempting  “An  Assassi- 
nation of  Julius  Caesar,”  Rem- 
brandt's “Night  Watch,”  or  Bot- 


ticelli's “Spring,”  though  the  lat-  hypatia. 


65 


[Fig.  70.] 


A . Seifert. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


EMBERS. 


[Fig-.  67.] 


Eastman  Johnson. 


ter  might  be  possible  to  the  fastidious  genius  and  constructive  style  of 
a Herzog.  For  that  reason  I personally  consider  it  absolutely  futile  to 
talk  of  Last  Judgments  and  Annunciations,  of  historical  scenes  and  pictures 
with  dozens  of  fig'ures  in  them.  I shall  restrict  my  argument  largely  to  one, 
two,  and  three  figure  compositions,  and  such  subjects  as  are  feasible  to  the 
present  range  of  pictorial  photography.  The  preferable  shapes  are  the  same  as 
in  landscape  work.  Uprights  and  oblongs  are  in  equal  demand,  and  sizes 
approaching  the  perfect  square  are  more  frequently  met  with.  The  shapes 
of  exaggerated  length,  however,  are  even  less  suitable  for  figure  compositions 
(excepting  decorative  panels).  The  oval  and  circle  are  occasionally  favored 
by  portraitists  and  allegorical  painters.  For  ordinary,  sane,  and  normal 
compositions,  the  parallelogram  forms  suffice. 

Speaking  in  a broad  sense  there  are  only  four  ways  of  treating  the  human 
figure.  F'irst,  the  realistic  method,  to  depict  human  beings  in  the  garb  they 
ordinarily  wear  in  a free  and  natural  manner,  as  Figs.  64  and  71  ; second,  the 
method  of  story  telling  to  introduce  some  literary  or  humorous  idea  that  will 
convey  to  the  beholder  something  beyond  a mere  representation  as  Fig's. 
66,  67,  and  72;  third,  to  idealize  and  symbolize  the  subject  to  represent  a 


66 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


IN  THE  CHURCH.  [Fig.  64.]  F.  H.  Tow/i/ns. 


strictly  poetic  or  highly  intellectual  idea  as  Fig.  65  ; and  finally,  fourth,  the 
decorative  style  which  puts  more  stress  on  technical  devices  than  actual 
representation. 

The  first  three  have  technically  the  same  aim,  to  create  an  illusion  that  we 
are  looking  into  space  at  real  objects  as  we  do  through  a window.  The  fourth 
principle  rather  wishes  to  suggest  than  to  represent,  it  does  not  particularly 
desire  to  create  an  illusion  but  solely  a beautiful  impression.  For  that  reason 
it  expresses  itself  best  in  flat  tones  like  Diag.  39.  Realistic  representation 
works  in  gradations  from  black  to  white,  from  dark  masses  in  one  part  of  the 
picture  towards  lighter  ones  in  another,  (as  Fig.  40,  a so-called  “center  com- 
position”), as  flat  tones  always  give  the  impression  of  mere  surface  elabora- 
tion. Fig.  65  is  really  a decorative  subject  but  the  painter  chose  to  paint 
it  in  a realistic  manner. 

The  methods  of  figure  composition  are  dependent  much  on  the  same  laws 
as  in  landscape  work.  We  meet  the  same  geometrical  forms  and  line  ideas, 
only  that  some  are  more  and  others  are  le«s  important  in  figure  work.  Besides 
many  new  features  are  added. 

The  horizontal  idea  is  entirely  overshadowed  by  the  vertical.  The  hu- 
man figure  is  in  most  instances  vertical  or  diagonal  in  tendency  and  for  that 


67 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


HYMN  TO  SELENE. 


[Fig-  65  ] 


Albert  Thomas. 


reason  alone  arrangements  emphasizing  this  tendency  predominate.  The 
diagonal  form  we  have  in  the  handsome  girl  of  Normandy  entitled  “Ex- 
pectation," by  A.  Guillon  ( Fig.  71  ) and  in  Jeanne  E.  Bennett's  "Two  Little 
Dutch  Girls"  (Fig.  66).  The  rectangular  idea  is  carried  out  in  Fig.  70,  and 
the  parallelism  of  vertical  lines  in  Fig.  65. 

The  ellipse  is  scarce  but  occasionally  met  with  in  the  presentation  of  a 
roundelay,  or  children  playing  on  the  floor.  The  circle  on  the  other  hand, 
which  is  not  specially  suitable  for  landscape,  plays  an  important  part  in  figure 
arrangement.  In  Antoine  Wiertz’s  famous  painting,  “The  Secret,"  we  have 
an  exceedingly  clever  version  of  the  circular  principle.  It  generally  assumes 
more  the  shape  of  an  oval  as  indicated  in  Diag.  35. 


68 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


EXPECT  A T1  ON.  [Kig.  71.J 

triangle  to  good  advantage. 


The  same  diagram  introduces 
us  to  several  new  principles.  The 
equilateral  triangle,  the  obtuse  ang- 
led triangle,  and  the  elongated  isos- 
celes with  a flattened  apex  appear 
often  in  single  figures  as  well  as 
groups.  “At  the  Cafe,"  by  Zervy 
(Fig.  69)  is  a composition  that 
a.  Guiitoin.  shows  the  use  of  the  equilateral 
Another  popular  form  is  the  rhomboid  and  its  vari- 
ous versions  of  quadrilateral  shapes.  The  sharp  angle  frequently  controls  a two 
figure  arrangement  as  in  Fig.  64.  We  will  have  ample  opportunities  to  return  to 
these  various  principles  and  analyze 


them  more  carefully  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters. 

The  human  form,  as  varied  as 
it  is  in  expression,  really  represents 
a very  simple  shape.  If  you  take 
half  a dozen  figures  and  roughly 
silhouette  them  by  connecting  the 
most  outward  parts,  as  I have  in 
Diag.  36,  you  will  notice  a certain 
similarity.  Three  of  these  are 
standing  figures.  The  lower  part 
invariably  represents  a long  quad- 
rilateral shape  with  a similar  or 


A r 
69 


1 HE  CAFE. 


[Fig-  69  | 


Zervy. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


Diagram  38. 

quadrilateral  shape  above.  Seated 
figures  either  resemble  a triangle, 
a quadrilateral,  or  assume  the  D 
shape  of  Diag.  37.  The  leading 
lines  that  control  seated  figures  I 
have  tried  to  convey  in  this  dia- 
gram. They  can  be  reduced  to 

form.  In  Tig.  70  we  have  the  A 

form,  also  in  Solomon’s  male 

figure  (Fig.  72).  In  the  same 

picture,  in  the  young  girl  seated  on 
another's  lap,  occurs  the  D line.  D 


Diagram  40. 


Diagram  39. 

conveys  the  idea  of  a reclining  figure  with 
outstretched  legs  or  a figure  seated 
straight  with  outstretched  legs. 

The  principal  controlling  lines 
of  standing  figures  we  find  in  Diag. 
38.  A shows  us  the  ordinary  atti- 
tude of  standing  erect  as  the  drap- 
ed females  in  Fig.  65  ; B the  stand- 
ing position  of  Fig.  71  ; C the  diag- 
onal tendency  of  the  seated  group 
in  Fig.  72  ; I)  the  attitude  of  leaning- 
forwards  like  the  woman  to  the 
"deft  in  the  same  picture ; E of  a 
figure  stooping,  and  F of  a figure 
leaning  backwards. 

You  may  wonder  why  I dwell 
upon  this  with  such  minute  care. 
Simply  to  impress  upon  your  mind 
the  line  importance  of  the  human 
figure.  This  line  is  the  starting 
point  of  all  composition  for  it  de- 
termines everything  else  in  the 


70 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


TIVO  LITTLE  DUTCH  GIRLS  [Fig.  66.]  Jeanne  E.  Bennett. 


picture.  The  figure  nearly  always  contains  the  point  of  interest,  and  all 
other  lines  and  shapes  are  dependent  on  the  line  and  shape  of  the  main  attrac- 
tion. Of  course  there  are  manv  other  lines  in  every  figure,  but  they  are  all 
subordinated  to  the  center  line.  Notice  how  angular  and  straight  all  the 
lines  are  in  various  figures  of  Moore's  picture.  They  complement  the  verti- 
cal tendency.  In  Fig.  71  vou  will  notice  several  decidedly  diagonal  lines 
aside^o?  the  diagonal  center  line,  and  in  Fig.  68  all  the  lines  seem  to  have  a 
circular  tendency. 

The  limbs  of  a graceful  or  absolutely  natural  person  may  at  times  un- 
consciously complement  the  movements  and  attitudes  of  the  body.  But  how 
many  models  do  you  find  that  move  with  grace  and  ease.  It  is  up  to  you  to 
add  what  they  are  lacking  in. 

As  soon  as  you  have  placed  a figure  in  any  desired  position  you  can 
experiment  with  the  seven  line  ideas  of  Chapter  III,  and  determine  which 
combination  is  most  suitable.  Of  course,  I do  not  mean  that  the  student 
should  look  at  diagrams  while  he  is  operating.  He  should  know  these  things 
so  well  that  they  have  become  second  nature  to  him.  For  instance  if  he  in- 
dulges in  a circular  composition  a la  Wiertz  (Fig.  68)  he  should  know  at  once 
that  a circular  form  is  best  supplemented  by  diagonal  lines.  Notice  how 


7i 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


cleverly  the  painter  has  managed  it.  He  took  one  of  the  simplest  geometrical 
forms,  the  diagonal  division,  applied  it  to  the  background,  and  thereby  put  a 
masterly  finishing  touch  to  the  entire  composition. 

The  Moore  painting,  “A  Youth  Relating  Tales,”  is  by  no  means  a master- 
piece of  composition.  It  is  only  interesting  how  the  artist  tried  to  improve 
his  figure  by  horizontal  and  vertical  lines.  In  the  rectangular  composition 
of  Fig.  70  we  have  two  other  straight  horizontal  lines  in  the  wall  and  sky  line. 
They  are  slightly  curved  but  nevertheless  make  the  picture  look  rather  severe. 


Perhaps  this  was  the  intention  of  the  artist ; in  that  case  there  would  be  no  use 
of  criticism.  But  1 believe  he  could  have  accomplished  the  same  effect  in  a 
different  manner. 

In  Fig.  67  we  have  a version  of  the  A line  of  Diag.  37  in  the  figure  of 
the  old  man.  It  is  rather  angular  and  well  balanced  by  the  vertical  lines  of 
the  open  fireplace,  but  the  line  which  makes  the  composition  a good  one  is  the 
diagonal  line  of  the  mantelpiece.  Without  it  the  figure  would  be  isolated,  not  in 
the  picture. 

The  best  way  to  develop  line  feeling  is  to  draw  a straight  or  curved  line 
in  a haphazard  way  within  an  oblong  or  upright,  then  add  one  or  two  lines 
and  study  whether  they  look  well  with  the  first  one.  One  needs  to  be  no 
draughtsman  for  that.  It  will  benefit  you  wonderfully.  You  will  realize  that 


72 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


some  lines  look  better  than  the  other,  one  combination  will  please  you,  another 
one  will  look  awkward.  Rub  out  the  added  lines  and  experiment  again,  and 
continue  to  do  so  at  leisure  moments.  You  will  soon  arrive  at  the  same 
conclusions  that  I endeavor  to  convey  to  you,  and  learn  to  see  objects  in  con- 
trolling lines  and  simple  outline  shapes. 


A YOUTH  RELATING  TALES.  [Fig.  72]  S.T.  Solomon. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Background  Arrangements.— Leading  Forms  of  Light  and  Shade  Divi- 
sion.— Foreground  and  Middle  Distance.  Center  Composition.  Bal- 
ance of  Lines  and  Masses.  With  Eleven  Illustrations  and  Six  Diagrams. 

1 HE  most  important  feature  of  figure  composition 
(next  to  the  figure  arrangement  itself)  is  the  back- 
ground. You  can  not  make  a good  figure  composi- 
tion without  an  adequate  background.  The  plain 
background  which  consists  merely  of  a differentia- 
tion of  values  without  subject  matter  is  only  per- 
missible in  portraits,  and  the  representation  of 
types,  pretty  women  treated  in  a sketchy  manner, 
or  figures  of  some  local  ethnological  interest,  as,  for 
instance,  a Spanish  brigand  or  bullfighter,  a Cape 
Cod  fisherman,  a Parisian  beggar,  etc.  And  even 
then  the  figure  must  be  large  and  fill  almost  the  entire  space. 

The  Japanese  artists  of  the  older  school  hardly  ever  used  a 
background  {vide  Fig.  82),  but  they  were  designers  who  had  a 
different  aim  than  our  artists.  They  do  not  want  to  create  the 
illusion  of  space  but  merely  fill  a space  in  a surface  manner.  They 
also  were  fond  of  the  mannerism  of  letting  the  edges  of  the  pic- 
ture cut  into  their  figures  and  to  show  only  parts  of  them.  This 
is  not  without  decorative  charm  but  less  suitable  for  our  Western 
style  of  composition.  The  impressionist  and  poster  artist  have 
utilized  the  idea  with  more  or  less  success,  but  it  always  subordi- 
nates the  figure  to  the  background,  and  gives  the  composition  a 
decorative  tendency.  To  give  the  impression  of  space  atmosphere 
around  a figure  it  must  be  placed  somewhere  towards  the  center 
of  the  picture. 

Broadly  speaking,  there  are  only  two  kinds  of  background,  the 
interior  and  open-air  background.  In  this  paper  we  shall  dis- 
cuss the  first  proposition.  In  an  interior  there  is  necessarily  a 
preponderance  of  vertical  lines,  and  as  the  source  of  light  is  more 
limited  than  in  out-of-doors  scenes  light  and  shape  prove  the  best 
vehicle  to  divide  the  space. 

The  frequently  quoted  maxim  of  Ruskin,  “Learn  to  think 
in  shadows,”  is  particularly  valuable  in  interior  composition.  The 
source  of  light  generally  comes  either  from  a window  (Figs.  77, 

80,  84),  an  open  door  (Figs.  75,  83),  or  from  some  artificial 
cause,  as  a lamp  (Fig.  76),  flashlight  (Fig.  74)  which  distorts 
values  and  never  furnishes  a truthful  representation,  or  from  some 


(Fig.  82.) 


75 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


special  light  appliance  as  the  footlights,  for  instance  (Fig.  81).  The  first 
three  sources  are  the  simplest  and  most  natural.  The  normal  is  always  to  be 
preferred,  even  if  one  aspires  to  abnormal  effects. 

Light  and  shade  distribution  with  the  help  of  lines  offers  an  endless  variety 
of  effects.  The  fundamental  forms  will  always  be  found  reliable.  We  have 
become  acquainted  with  the  version  of  Diag.  41  in  the  previous  chapter. 
The  rectangular  idea  (Diag.  42)  is  particularly  available.  We  have 
examples  of  it  in  Figs.  77  and  SO.  “Waiting  and  Watching,”  by  Josef  Israels 
is  a beautiful  arrangement.  The  surface  of  the  window  and  the  light  striking 
the  face  and  table,  leaving  the  remainder  in  subtle  half-shadows,  form  a sim- 
ple rectangular  shape,  and  vertical  lines  predominate  in  the  foreground  and 
background. 

The  term  “background"  in  the  parlance  of  artists  includes  foreground, 
middle  distance,  and  distance.  In  interiors  there  is  generally  no  distance,  un- 
less one  should  choose  to  consider  the  vista  of  the  back  room  in  Fig.  78,  or 
the  lines  of  the  auditorium  in  Fig.  81  as  such.  Also  the  foreground  falls  away 
as  soon  as  the  figure  is  placed  very  near  the  lower  edge.  “Sad  News,”  by  R. 
W.  Vonnoh,  has  no  foreground  to  speak  of.  The  composition  is  good  but  not 
quite  as  convincing  as  that  of  Israels.  The  figure  has  the  S shape  and  the 


(Diag.  43.)  (Diag.  44.) 


76 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


BEHIND  THE  FOOTLIGHTS.  ^Fig-.  81  ) Louis  Kronberg. 

rest  of  the  picture  is  carried  out  largely  in  the  rectangular  idea.  The  face 
could  be  more  beautiful  if  it  had  been  placed  so  that  the  silhouette  of  the  face 
would  show  against  the  wood-work.  The  light  spots  outlining  the  face  are  not 


(Dig.  45.) 


(Diag.  46.) 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


beautiful.  Otherwise  the  line  work 
is  well  balanced.  If  the  rect- 
angular idea  had  been  carried  out 
more  fully  by  making  the  wall  with 
the  crucifix  dark,  the  figure  could 
not  sit  in  the  same  position,  but  had 
also  to  assume  a more  rectangular 
s'hape. 

Diag.  43  is  the  reverse  of 
Diag.  40  in  the  last  chapter.  It  is 
not  often  met  with.  A modified 
example  of  it  we  find  in  A.  Struys’ 
“Perhaps,”  where  the  darkest  part 
is  in  the  center,  and  light  around 
the  edges.  It  is  a specimen  of  the 
flat  background  that  is  nearly  re- 
lated to  the  plain  background  of 
portraits.  In  this  case  it  is  render- 
ed interesting  by  spotting  rather 
than  gradation.  Notice  how  care- 
watching  AND  waiting.  jose/ israe/s.  fully  everything  has  been  placed, 

<Fig-  77-)  and  its  greatest  charm  perhaps 

is  that  every  object  conveys  a meaning  aside  from  its  value  as  a feature 
of  the  composition.  On  the  table  is  placed  a frugal  repast  and  a few  sheets  of 
music  which  indicate  in  plain  language  the  life  of  this  young  musician,  full  of 
hardships  and  study.  He  is  too 
poor  even  to  buy  a full  dress  shirt. 

But  he  has  faith  in  his  genius,  the 
holy  water  basin  imparts  this  idea. 

And  then  the  laurel  wreath  in  the 
frame  of  some  celebrated  musician. 

Will  he  also  reach  the  pinnacle  of 
fame  ? Perhaps.  The  diagonal  line 
of  the  violin  bow  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  the  composition. 

Without  it  the  picture  would  lack 
balance. 

Diag.  40  is  the  form  of  center 
composition  which  enjoys  great 
popularity  in  lamp-light  arrange- 
ments. Elizabeth  Nourse  composed 
her  “Evening  ” (Fig.  76)  in  this 
fashion.  The  source  of  light  is 
exactly  in  the  center,  only  its  cir- 
cular shape  has  cleverly  been 
modified  by  the  blunt  angle  form  perhaps.  (Fig.  79.'  a.  strays. 


78 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


SAD  NEWS.  (Fig.  80.)  R.  W.  Vonnoh. 


of  the  table  and  the  application  of  the  two  rectangular  shapes  of  the  chair  and 
the  old  woman.  In  a way  it  also  carries  out  the  form  of  Diag.  44,  as  does  G. 
Lorey’s  “Golden  Anniversary.”  This  picture  has  no  pictorial  pretensions,  it  is 
meant  as  a portrait  and  a record  of  wedding  gifts.  It  merely  reveals  the 
photographic  possibilities  of  representing  detail.  Elimination  alone  could  give 
this  picture  pictorial  value. 

The  forms  that  are  available  to  the  proper  division  of  planes  and  masses  in 
the  background  are  endless,  and  often  the  line  and  chiaroscural  ideas  do  not 
supplement  but  rather  oppose  each  other.  It  is  my  contention  that  the  composi- 
tion always  fares  better  if  they  work  in  perfect  harmony,  but  I suppose  this  is 
not.  always  possible.  In  A.  Marshall’s  photograph  entitled  “Sunday  Morning,” 
we  have  the  line  idea  of  Diag.  44,  hut  the  light  and  dark  planes  are  not  con- 
trolled by  them.  They  are  scattered  throughout  the  composition.  If  the  walls 
were  darker  and  the  shadows  in  the  lower  part  a trifle  mone  translucent,  the 
idea  of  Diag.  44  would  have  been  carried  out  more  perfectly,  and  the  com- 
position would  show  better  balance. 

“The  Kitchen  of  Mount  Vernon"  (Fig.  75),  by  Eastman  Johnson,  one  of 
our  great  American  genre  painters,  is  also  unsatisfactory  in  this  respect. 
There  are  too  many  light  streaks  and  dark  spots.  This  may  be  the  fault  of  the 


79 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


E VE N 1 NG.  ( K i g . 76 . ) El izabeth  No u r 

serve  as  the  leading  theme  of 
ever,  a valuable  assistance  to  tone 
compositions  like  Clarence  H. 
White’s  illustration  to  “Eben 
Holden”  (Fig.  78).  In  tone  com- 
position everything  is  subordinated 
to  the  prevailing  middle  tint.  All 
line  and  shape  ideas  are  smothered 
as  it  were  in  the  general  tint.  The 
composition  of  this  picture  is  ex- 
ceedingly clever ; it  combines  the 
isosceles  shape  of  the  figure  with 
the  rectangular  form  and  vista 
idea ; but  it  does  not  produce  any 
vivid  impression.  Tone  and  ani- 
mation do  not  go  together.  If 
you  prefer  subtlety  to  strength,  uni- 
formity of  tint  to  contrast,  tone 
will  be  your  favorite  vehicle  of  ex- 
pression. But  never  forget  that 
you  sacrifice  thereby  many  other 
fascinating  elements  of  composi- 
tion. A tone  picture  always  looks 
dull  and  flat  in  comparison  to  light 
and  shade  compositions. 


reproduction.  In  color  it  ma\ 
produce  a fine  harmony.  Never- 
theless it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  pic- 
ture is  deficient  as  a light  and 
shade  composition.  There  is  no 
leading  idea  of  line  or  light  dis- 
tribution, and  it  could  easily  have 
been  managed,  either  by  center  ar- 
rangement or  diagonal  division. 

Diag.  45  merely  represents 
one  of  the  many  other  possibilities, 
the  concentration  of  light  in  a tri- 
angular form.  The  figure  “M’liss,” 
(Fig.  83),  by  Anne  W.  Brigman 
carries  out  this  principle.  The 
triangle  is  well  supported  by  the 
rectangular  idea.  It  is  a simple 
and  satisfactory  composition. 

The  gradation  from  dark  to 
light  across  the  width  of  the  pic- 
ture as  shown  in  Diag.  46  is  always 
effective,  but  hardly  sufficient  to 
composition.  It  furnishes,  how- 


Wi'LISS." 

80 


(Fig.  83.) 


A nne  IV.  Brigman. 


IL  LUSTRA  TION  FOR  “ EBEN  HOLDEN." 

(Fig.  78.) 


C.  H.  White. 


THE  KITCHEN  OF  MOUNT  VERNON. 


(Fig-  75-) 


Eastman  yo/inson. 


GOLDEN  ANNIVERSARY 


(Fig.  74. 


G.  Lorey. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


“Behind  the  Footlights”  (Fig.  81),  by  Louis  Kronberg  represents  an  ex- 
ceptional case.  A figure  in  quick  motion  easily  assumes  a shape  equivalent 
to  the  zigzag  shape  in  landscape  arrangements.  The  figure,  however,  is  not 
well  balanced,  neither  by  the  background  nor  the  mandolin  player.  If  these 
were  two  instead  of  one,  forming  a diagonal  shape,  the  composition  would  great- 
ly improve.  The  background  is  interesting  for  its  parallelism  of  dark  and  light 
curve  form;  but  the  figure  is  isolated,  it  does  not  sink  into  the  background 
and  this  is  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the  surface  curves  do  not  harmonize 
with  the  angular  shape  of  the  figure. 

Figures  should  always  look  as  if  they  were  one  with  the  background,  and 
not  like  silhouettes  pasted  on  the  background,  Figs.  74,  81,  84,  and  even  80,  do 
not  quite  produce  the  impression  that  they  stand  in  the  depth  of  some  space  and 
absolutely  belong  to  the  interior  that  surrounds  them.  It  is  best  carried  out 
in  Figs.  76,  77,  78,  and  83. 


SUN  DA  V MORNING. 


(Fig  84.) 


A.  Marshall 


CHAPTER  IX 


Landscape  Backgrounds.— Breadth  and  Detail.  Different  Combinations 
of  Foreground,  Middle  Distance,  and  Distance.  — A Hint  from 
the  Old  Masters.  — Exceptional  Cases.  — With  Sixteen 
Illustrations. 

/NLIKE  the  interior  background  which,  as  we  have  shown  in  the 
last  chapter,  is  limited  to  foreground  and  in  most  instances  only  to 
middle  distance  effects,  the  well  composed  landscape  foreground 
generally  shows  foreground  as  well  as  middle  distance  and 
distance. 

Of  course,  this  does  not  always  hold  good.  In  “The  Auto  Girl,” 
by  H.  J.  Leonard  (Fig.  92),  we  merely  see  a foliage  background  and 
in  the  decorative  panel,  “Flashing  Sunlight”  (Fig.  85),  by  Eva  Watson 
Schultze,  the  foreground  is  absent,  which  is  also  the  case  in  the  charming  pic- 
ture “Mother  and  Child,”  by  Geo.  de  Forrest  Brush  (Fig.  87).  But  more  out- 
of-door  figure  compositions  show  a distinct  foreground,  middle  distance,  and 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


distance.  For  this  the  “Young 
Horseman,”  by  Richard  Lorenz,  is 
typical.  There  we  notice  a steady 
gradation  from  distinctness  to  in- 
distinctness. The  same  can  be  ob- 
served in  Figs.  88,  93,  and  97.  In 
interiors  the  middle  distance,  the 
background,  is  generally  represented 
by  clearly  defined  objects,  they  may 
be  somewhat  blurred  but  they  rep- 
resent distinct  forms  and  shapes. 

In  the  landscape  background 
there  is  a tendency  to  slur  the  mid- 
dle distance.  Middle  distance  and 
distance  are  in  many  cases  but 
slightly  differentiated  (viz.  Alfred 
Stieglitz's  “Net  Mender,"  Fig.  89). 
The  gradation  is  hardly  perceptible 
and  almost  the  same  value  of  tints 
prevails  throughout.  This  intro- 
duces a new  element  of  breadth  and 
detail,  detail  in  the  foreground  and 
breadth  in  the  background.  The 
reverse,  which  is  sometimes  applied 


MOTHER  AND  CHILD.  Geo.  de  Forrest  Brush. 
(Fig.  87) 


.ASHING  SUNLIGHT.  Eva  iVatson  Schiiltze. 

(Fig.  85) 

by  painters,  I believe  is  impossible 
in  figure  photography.  The  dis- 
tance in  Coburn’s  “The  Dragon,” 
Fig.  5,  is  as  clear  and  distinct  as  in 
Seifert's  “Hypatia”  (Fig.  70),  but 
there  is  no  figure  in  the  foreground, 
and  if  there  were  one  it  would  be 
merely  a blurred  shape.  Detail  in 
the  foreground  and  breadth  in  the 
distance  is  a good  medium  to  ex- 
press a vast  area  of  space.  In  Fig. 
87  as  well  as  95  the  horizon  line  looks 
as  if  it  were  a couple  of  miles  away. 
Also,  “At  the  Edge  of  the  Cliff," 
by  Myra  A.  Wiggins,  conveys  the 
idea  of  distance ; in  this  particular 
case,  how  ever,  the  diagonal  lines  in 
the  middle  distance  prove  valuable 
helpmates. 

In  backgrounds  that  depict 
open  country  or  the  sea,  the  hori- 
zontal and  diagonal  lines  generally 


86 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


YOUNG  HORSEMAN.  (Fig.  gg)  Richard  Lorens. 

prevail.  In  Fig.  89  the  horizontal  line  divides  the  dark  figure  into  a tri- 
angular and  a rhomboid  shape,  the  latter,  larger  in  area,  skilfully  balances 
the  silhouette  of  the  upper  one  against  the  sky.  The  picture  has  long 
been  recognized  as  a masterpiece  of  pictorial  photography  and  there  is 
hardly  any  fault  to  find  with  it.  It  is  a typical  form  of  composition  of  a 
seated  figure  against  the  sky,  and  is  well  worth  repeating  'by  younger  amateurs. 
By  repeating,  of  course,  I do  not  mean  slavish  imitation,  but  merely  a clever 
appliance  of  the  same  principles  to  new  subjects  of  a similar  character. 

Fig.  95,  “Summer,"  by  C.  Yarnall  Abbott,  is  remarkable  for  its  uncon- 
ventional treatment.  The  figure  is  placed  almost  in  the  center,  under  ordinary 
circumstances  a dangerous  proceeding.  The  picture  is  divided  into  two 
parts,  the  darker  part  formed  by  the  silhouettes  of  the  branches  and  the  figure, 
and  the  lighter  part  by  the  water.  The  two  parts  are  connected  and  flow  into 
each  other  by  the  diagonal  shape  of  the  figure  and  its  shadows,  the  suggestion 
of  waves,  and  the  arrangement  of  the  overhanging  branch  (also  diagonal 
in  tendency),  which  she  has  grasped  with  her  arms.  The  feeling  of  air  and 
water,  and  the  untrammeled  grace  of  the  human  body  (in  the  original)  are 
beautifully  carried  out. 

As  soon  as  the  background  does  not  present  a large  part  of  the  sky, 
and  is  shut  off  by  trees  or  buildings,  only  a treatment  of  foreground  and  mid- 
dle distance  is  possible.  This  generally  concentrates  the  interest  more  in  the 
figure.  Compare  Figs.  88  and  99.  The  mass  of  light  in  Fig.  88  forms  a stronger 

87 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  NET  MENDER.  (Fig.  89)  Alfred  S tie  glitz. 


attraction  than  the  figure  and  carries  out  my  former  argument  that  the 
distance  should  be  subdued.  Also  the  background  in  F.  L.  Willard’s  “Spring 
Song,”  contains  too  many  details,  but  as  they  are  subordinated  to  the  figure 
and  in  no  way  obtrusive  one  has  really  no  fault  to  find  with  it. 

The  light  effect  in  “The  Old  Method”  (Fig.  97),  by  R.  J.  Hillier  is  not 
convincing,  it  suggests  positive  manipulation,  but  it  is  right  as  far  as  it  gives 
the  upper  part  of  the  figure  the  strongest  lighting.  In  this  instance  the  trees 
are  so  far  back  and  so  cleverly  broken  up  that  they  suggest  distance.  As  an 
object  lesson  of  proper  relations  of  foreground,  middle  distance,  and  distance,  it 
can  be  recommended. 

Figs.  85  and  86  show  two  curious  examples  where  the  background  con- 
sists merely  of  a middle  distance.  This  flattens  the  picture  and  takes  away  the 
suggestion  of  space  and  atmosphere,  but  adds  a decorative  quality.  Both  back- 
grounds show  the  diagonal  division  line  with  the  application  of  verticals.  Fig. 
85  is  particularly  fortunate  in  that  respect. 

A similar  decorative  effect  but  one  that  is  still  capable  of  expressing  depth 
is  accomplished  by  applying  merely  the  far  distance  as  background.  In  the 
“Decorative  Study,”  by  Robert  Demachy,  it  was  originally  a middle  distance 
but  by  blurring  it,  it  assumed  the  effect  of  distance.  One  might  argue  that 
the  flowerstalks  in  this  picture  represent  the  foreground,  but  they  really  belong 


88 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  EDGE  OF  THE  CLIFF. 

(Fig-  93) 


to  the  figure ; as  soon  as  only  the 
upper  part  of  a figure  is  seen,  we 
cannot  speak  of  any  foreground. 
The  arch-like  shape  of  the  top  of  the 
picture  helps  the  decorative  quality. 
The  picture  would  not  look  half  as 
well  without  it.  Trimming  on  this 
order  should  only  be  attempted  if 
the  subject  and  its  treatment  war- 
rant it.  The  parallel  diagonals  of 
the  flowerstalks  and  the  silhouette 
of  the  foliage  against  the  sky 
(balancing  the  figure),  furnish  a 
good  support  to  the  curved  bound- 
ary line.  The  light  spot  of  the  sky 
was  originally  rectangular  in  form. 
It  necessitated  a change,  as  it  would 
have  been  too  conspicuous  and 
would  have  spoiled  the  picture. 

The  de  Forrest  Brush  picture, 
Fig.  87,  carries  out  the  silhouette 
idea  against  the  background  (al- 
which  shows  us  a glimpse  of  hilly  coun- 

an 


though  in  a rather  haphazard  manner), 
try,  a trifle  indistinct  but  still  sufficient  to  make  it  interesting.  This  is 
idea  which  was  in  frequent  use 
with  the  Old  Masters.  Nearly  all 
their  Madonna  pictures  with  elabo- 
rate backgrounds,  and  many  of 
their  portraits,  show  this  arrange- 
ment. It  has  the  advantage  of  not 
interfering  with  the  figures  and  yet 
conveying  space  beyond.  In  all 
other  pictures  the  background  has 
to  be  connected  by  lines  and  masses 
with  the  figures,  in  this  arrange- 
ment the  latter  are  isolated  by  the 
silhouette  idea,  and  the  landscape 
is  merely  an  accessory,  while  in 
modern  composition  the  landscape 
background  frequently  comes  dan- 
gerously near  sharing  the  interest 
with  the  figures. 


We  have  still  to  review  a few 
examples  that  are  more  or  less  ex- 
ceptional in  character.  “‘Shelling 
Peas,”  by  Alfred  Stieglitz  (F'ig. 


89 


(Fig.  95) 


C.  Y.  Abbott. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


94),  made  as  early  as  1887,  is  curi- 
ous because  it  is  composed  on  the 
same  principles  as  an  interior.  Any 
subject  ‘'with  a )wall  immediately 
behind  the  figure,  of  course  can  only 
deal  with  foreground  and  middle 
distance,  and  if  crowded  with  ob- 
jects, as  this  one  is,  can  only  be 
treated  like  an  interior.  The  an- 
gular shape  of  the  figure  and  basket 
complement  each  other.  There  is 
a vague  suggestion  of  the  angular 
division  of  Diag.  44.  The  pole  of 
the  tent  assumes  the  same  impor- 
tant part  as  the  archer’s  bow  in 
Fig.  79- 

The  foliage  in  Fig.  92  is 
treated  like  an  indoor  portrait 
background,  but  the  spots  of  light 
flickering  through  the  leaves  make 
it  more  snappy.  The  figure  is 
treated  as  a light  silhouette  against 
a middle  tint  ground,  but  its  out- 
lines, although  very  decided  in 
character,  do  not  assume  any  in- 


‘SPRING  SONG/’  U'ig.  96)  F.  L.  IVilliard. 

teresting  shape.  The  picture  is 
good  in  detail  and  presumably  as 
a likeness  but  does  not  show  much 
knowledge  of  pictorial  composi- 
tion. 

Fig.  90,  “The  Bob  Sled,”  by 
H.  Flail,  shows  a blurred  fore- 
ground and  a more  distinct  middle 
distance,  but  the  triangular  cut  of 
snow  is  so  large  and  decided  in 
form  that  it  balances  the  detail  of 
the  background.  The  diagonal 
tendency  of  the  figures,  prompted 
by  the  subject  they  depict,  is  well 
managed  and  helped  considerablv 
by  the  curved  line  of  one  of  the 
tree  trunks.  Any  object  in  mo- 
tion should  always  be  represented 
in  such  a way  that  it  conveys  the 
most  characteristic  attitude  pro- 
duced by  the  motion.  A bob  sled  is 


THE  OLD  METHOD. 


(Fig-  97) 


R.  J.  Hillier. 

90 


DECORATIVE  STUDY.  (Fig.  91)  Robert  Demachy. 


LITTLE  PEASANT  GIRL. 

(Fig.  88) 


SOLITUDE. 


(Fig.  100) 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


long  in  shape,  and  moves  diagonally. 
It  therefore  should  be  represented,  if 
possible,  as  in  this  case,  in  its  full 
length  and  in  a slanting  position,  and 
not  in  a perspective  view. 

Fig.  ioo,  “Solitude,”  by  Laura 
Adams  Armer  is  a go-between  of  a 
landscape  and  figure  composition.  It 
is  meant  as  a figure  composition,  and 
the  draped  vision  (resembling  some 
female  Dante)  is  treated  with  utmost 
care.  It  is  neither.  For  a figure  com- 
position the  woman  is  entirely  too 
small,  and  for  a landscape  composition 
the  treatment  of  the  background  is  too 
monotonous.  And  yet  it  is  interesting 
for  the  clever  use  of  a small  white 
spot  against  the  unusually  large  area 
of  a dark  tint.  Somehow  she  has  ac- 


Annie  W.  Brigman. 
MADONNA  OF  THE  PEACH  TREE.  (Fig.  98) 


SHELLING  PEAS.  (Fig.  94)  Alfred  Stieglitz. 


complished  her  intention  of  producing 
a poetic  impression  in  the  beholder. 
The  low  diagonal  division  cutting  into 
the  figure  and  dividing  the  entire  sur- 
face into  a triangular  middle  tint,  a 
v\  hite  spot,  and  a dark  plane  is  exceed- 
ingly clever.  I believe  the  success  of 
the  effect  is  entirely  dependent  on  the 
placing  of  the  figure.  It  is  just  in  the 
right  place. 

“The  Madonna  of  the  Peach  Tree” 
(Fig.  99),  by  Annie  W.  Brigman,  is 
quite  an  unusual  composition.  It  is  an 
odd  version  of  the  Japanese  vista  idea, 
but  I do  not  consider  it  particularly  ad- 
visable to  arrange  an  upright  frame- 
like shape  within  an  upright  frame.  As 
it  is,  it  represents  a combination  of  an 
interior  and  out-of-doors  scene.  The 
lighting  is  skilful  and  really  makes  the 


92 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


WINTER  TIME.  (Fig.  86)  H.  Hall. 


picture.  But  both  figure  and  back- 
ground are  too  indistinct  to  con- 
vey anything  but  a confused  idea  of 
the  meaning  of  the  picture.  The 
straight  angular  shape  of  the  figure 
was  the  only  one  possible  that 
would  harmonize  with  the  decided 
vertical  and  horizontal  lines  of  the 
open  doorway.  Pictorial  photog- 
raphers of  this  kind  should  be  en- 
couraged; they  at  least  show  an 
ambitious  effort,  a desire  to  ex- 
periment and  to  utilize  the  princi- 
ples of  composition  for  some  new 
combination. 

I wonder  if  my  readers  have 
noticed  that  nearly  all  the  figures 
in  the  illustrations  accompanying 
this  article  carry  out  the  triangular 
idea,  or  the  quadrilateral  shape 
with  a triangular  top  as  explained 
in  Diag.  35.  The  only  exceptions 
are  Figs.  95,  97,  and  99.  Even 


THE  BOBSLED. 


(Fig.  90) 

93 


H.  Hall. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


Figs.  89  and  94  are  really  triangular  shapes.  This  is  no  mere  coincidence. 
As  stated  before  they  are  the  typical  forms,  and  occur  in  70  per  cent,  of  all 
pictures.  I merely  mention  this  again,  as  I want  to  lay  special  emphasis  in 
these  discussions  upon  the  fundamental,  most  universal  principles  and  forms. 
If  we  have  a thorough  knowledge  of  these,  it  will  be  comparatively  easy  to 
branch  out  and  to  make  ourselves  familiar  with  and  finally  master  all  these 
and  subtler  elements  of  composition,  that  no  book  on  composition  can  teach. 
They  are  entirely  dependent  on  instinct,  intuition,  good  taste,  call  it  what- 
ever you  choose,  but  these  qualities  nobody  has  ever  and  nobody  will  ever 
possess  without  these  principles  and  forms  that  have  guided  and  made  pictorial 
representation  what  it  is  to-day. 


94 


CHAPTER  X 


One-Figure  Composition.—  Difference  Between  Portraiture  and  Pictorial- 
ism. — Suitable  Subjects. — Values. — The  Connecting  Link. — Texture.— 
On  the  Rendering  of  Flesh  Values. — With  Thirteen  Illustrations  and 
and  Four  Diagrams. 

N DISCUSSING  one-figure  composition  which  will  furnish  the 
main  topic  of  this  paper,  1 do  not  intend  to  dwell  upon  por- 
traiture, but  I would  like  to  make  clear  the  difference  between  a 
portrait  and  a pictorial  figure. 

Portraiture  is  a specialty.  An  accurate  likeness  and  a 
characteristic  pose  are  the  main  objects.  The  whole  interest  is 
concentrated  upon  the  face,  and  every  other  consideration  is 
sacrificed  to  it.  A portrait  is  rarely  a pictorial  masterpiece,  and 
a pictorial  representation  is  hardly  ever  a good  portrait. 

In  pictorial  composition  there  is  no  limitation.  The  aim  is  to  produce 
something  beautiful  and  not  a record.  The  human  figure  can  be  used  to  ex- 
press the  whole  gamut  of  human  emotion  and  shown  in  every  attitude  and  ac- 
tion that  is  pleasant  to  contemplate. 

Of  course,  one-figure  composition  is  somewhat  limited  in  expression  for 
pictorial  purposes.  A striking  pose  is  often  deemed  sufficient.  You  may  ask 
how  does  it  then  differ  from  portraiture.  Well,  let  us  look  at  the  “Spanish 
Dancer,"  by  Robert  Henri  (Fig.  113)  and  Chas.  W.  Hawthorne's  “Man  with 
Oar,”  Fig.  112.  Nothing  simpler  could  be  imagined.  Each  depicts  an  in- 
teresting type  in  a natural  pose.  And  yet  nobody  would  consider  them  por- 
traits. Why  ? The  answer  in  most  cases  would  be,  there  is  something  about 
them  that  one  does  not  associate  yyith  portraiture,  something  mdre  pic- 
turesque, more  free  and  spontaneous.  They  were  not  made  for  the  face  alone, 
but  treated  in  a broader  manner,  to  present  a type  of  humanity  without 
subterfuge,  merely  to  please  the  artist.  And  for  that  reason  we  find  a stronger 
emphasis  of  line,  a more  unconventional  pose,  a finer  handling  of  detail.  What 
portraitist  would  venture  to  represent  an  arm  like  that  of  the  dancer,  or  in- 
troduce a big  white  spot  like  the  pan  of  the  fisherman  in  the  lower  part  of 
an  upright.  Portraitists  are  perhaps  too  much  the  slaves  of  the  public,  but 
even  the  best  can  not  overcome  certain  restrictions ; they  have  to  be  matter 
of  fact  and  can  not  allow  themselves  many  flourishes  for  mere  beauty’s  sake. 

One-figure  cqmposition  is  perhaps  most  suitable  to  simple  depictions  of 
types  like  figures  69,  7 1,  83,  84,  89,  1 12,  113,  etc.,  that  are  interesting  in  them- 
selves and  do  nothing  in  particular.  Costume  studies  do  npt  fare  quite 
as  well.  One  expects  some  explanation,  some  meaning.  Fig.  70  is  called 


95 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


“Hypatia,”  but  it  could  just  as  well 
be  somebody  else.  Simple  folks 
represented  at  somey  occupation 

. Y>,  t0%  (f'27" 

like  Figs.  102  and  108  are  mildly 
effective.  The  people  represented 
are  not  particularly  picturesque  or 
interesting  and  are  helped  by  the 
accessories  that  explain  the  reason 
of  their  existence.  Genre  studies 
and  story-telling  pictures  like  67, 
80,  and  lor,  have  the  true  picture 
quality,  but  one-figure  composi- 
tions are  apt  to  look  like  still  life, 
unless  they  contain  some  dramatic 
or  poetic  element  like?  80A95,  g6, 
and  103.  Mrs.  G.  Kasebier’s  well 
known  “The  Manger,”  is  treated 
in  a decorative  way  like  Robert 
Demachy’s  ox. 


SPANISH  DANCER.  (Fig.  113)  Robert  Henri. 

On  the  placing  of  the  figure  I have 
talked  in  previous  chapters  and  I have  noth- 
ing further  to  add,  at  least  in  regard  to  one- 
figure  composition.  What  we  have  to 
analyze  more  carefully  are  those  elements 
that  enter  into  composition  aside  from  the 
placing  of  the  figure  and  the  arrangement 
of  lines  and  masses.  The  most  important 
of  them  is  “the  relation  of  values.” 

A correct  rendering  of  values  con- 
sists of  giving  each  object,  plane,  and  de- 
fined shape  that  special  tint  or  tonal  grada- 
tion which  expresses  best  their  color  and 
texture  and  to  bring  them  into  an  harmo- 


MAN  WITH  OAR.  C.  W.  Hawthorne. 
(Fig.  112) 


b 


96 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


(Diag.  48) 


TRYING  ON  AN  OLD  GOWN.  Bessie  Buehrmann. 

(Fig.  106) 


nious  relation  with  all  the  other  monochrome  effects  of  the  picture.  Every  pic- 
ture is  cut  up  into  numerous  shapes  of  different  tonality.  Look  for  instance  at 
Bessie  Buehrmann’s  “Trying  on  an  Old  Gown”  (Fig.  106),  and  at  Diag.  48,  in 
which  I have  tried  to  analyze  figure  and  background  into  its  various  elements  of 
lightness  and  darkness.  The  highest  light  effect  occurs  in  plane  one.  It  is  no- 
where repeated.  Four  which  represents  a large  area  comes  nearest  to  it  in  light- 
ness, but  is  not  as  valuable  as  accents  two  and  three  which  are  just  a trifle 
lower  in  key.  Plane  three  balances  the  “bunched”  composition  of  the  upper  left 
corner,  in  which  the  curtain  plays  an  important  part.  Almost  everything  might 
be  changed  in  the  composition,  but  it  could  not  get  along  without  the  curtain. 
The  middle  tint  is  furnished  by  the  wall  and  settee  to  the  right,  planes  seven 
and  twelve,  and  supplemented  in  a vague  manner  by  eleven.  Nine,  the  dark 
part  of  the  composition,  is  skilfully  balanced  by  ten  on  the  other  side  of  the 
figure  and  by  thirteen.  The  monotony  of  twelve  is  broken  by  the  frame  five 
and  the  reflected  image  in  the  mirror.  Six,  which  is  really  the  point  of  interest 
in  this  picture,  is  praiseworthy  for  the  subdued  way  in  which  it  is  handled. 
Eight  furnished  the  one  deep  note  of  small  dimensions  vaguely  repeated  in 
thirteen.  Planes  one,  three,  four,  and  eight  with  the  help  of  the  curtain  and  the 


97 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  FLUTE  PLAYER.  (Fig.  ioi)  Dumont. 


well  defined  large  areas  of  lightness  and  darkness,  nine  and  seven,  twelve,  make 
the  picture  and  the  successful  silhouette  of  the  figure,  but  brilliancy  and  a 
higher  pictorial  quality  was  only  gained  by  the  introduction  of  the  four  small 


(Fig.  108) 


W.  F.  James. 


TUESDAY. 


98 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


H1LLE  BOBBE.  (Fig.  107)  Franz  Hals. 

but  animated  planes  of  fourteen,  six,  five,  and  thirteen,  which  show  a variety  of 
minor  tonal  gradations. 

“The  Flute  Player,’  by  Dumont  (Fig.  ioi),  is  one  of  the  ablest  photo- 
graphic genre  studies  I have  ever  come  across.  It  is  perhaps  a trifle  too  much  in 
profile,  but  that  was  undoubtedly  the  easiest  way  to  manage  a variety  of  de- 
tail. He  placed  the  strongest  light  on  the  objects  of  the  table,  Diag.  47.  Planes 
one,  two,  and  three  are  all  lighter  than  the  face  and  hand.  Even  the  shirt- 
sleeve five  is  lighter.  This  arrangement  gives  a beautiful  tonal  effect  to  the 
face  and  hand,  five  and  six.  1 he  rest  is  of  the  picture  is  kept  up  very  much  in 


99 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  MANGER.  (Fig.  10.3)  Gertrude  Kasebier. 


one  key,  with  a beautiful  variation 
of  minor  gradation.  This  is  what 
I call  a good  tonal  composition. 

It  also  introduces  us  to  a new 
agent  that  proves  at  times  most 
valuable  in  figure  composition,  par- 
ticularly so  in  arrangement  of  two 
figures,  or  one  figure  with  some 
conspicuous  object  nearby.  This 
is  the  connecting  link.  If  you 
have  two  bulky  shapes  in  a picture, 
as  indicated  in  Diag.  49,  they  look 
isolated.  And  this  can  be  accom- 
plished only  by  some  strong  lines 
that  combine  the  two  subjects,  Diag. 
50,  which  carries  out  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  famous  “Hille  Bobbe" 
painting,  by  Franz  Hals.  In  it  the 
undulating  lines  of  the  fish  form 
the  connecting  link.  In  Dumont’s 
picture  it  is  the  flute.  We  have  the 
same  problem  in  W.  F.  James’ 
“Tuesday,”  Fig.  108.  There  were  the  woman  and  the  wash  basket,  they  were 
separated  and  had  to  be  combined.  Nothing  was  more  natural  than  to  do  this 

by  the  ironing  board.  As  both 

shapes  are  rather  dark  the  board 
is  cleverly  lighted.  In  Edmund 
Stirling’s  “Drawing  Lesson”  (Fig. 
no)  it  is  the  hand  of  the  mother 
holding  the  pencil  and  the  drawing- 
pad.  The  building  blocks  in  Jeanne 
E.  Bennett's  “Toyhouses,”  furnish 
a rather  elaborate  connecting  link. 

In  none  of  these  pictures  the  prob- 
lem is  solved  as  well  as  in  the  F'ranz 
Hals  picture.  The  lines  have  true 
linear  beauty  and  really  combine 
two  separate  masses. 

Another  element  that  demands 
a few  words  of  discussion  is  tex- 
ture. To  show  the  surface  quality 
of  a fabric,  of  different  kinds  of 
wood,  of  metal  utensils,  or  any 
other  object  is  always  effective, 
and  presents  a truly  photographic  moto  player 


H.  G.  French. 


IOO 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


TOYHOU SES.  (Fig.  109)  Jeanne  E.  Bennett. 


quality.  It  is  easier  in  that  medium  than  in  any  other.  It  is  well  done 
in  Figs.  101  and  102,  and  the  oilcloth  apron  of  the  fisherman  in  Haw- 
thorne’s painting  is  excellent.  So  are  the  fish  in  the  Franz  Hals  picture.  In 
Figs.  104,  108,  and  109,  the  quality  is  absolutely  lacking.  And  the  reason  is 
that  they  are  tone  pictures.  Vivid  detail  and  textural  charm  do  not  go  with 
blurred  and  dark  tonal  effects.  The  reader  can  easily  find  out  for  himself  by 


(Diag.  50) 


IOI 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


WATER  NYMPH. 


reviewing  the  various  illustrations 
of  my  articles  whether  a picture  is 
enhanced  by  texture  or  not.  Some 
undoubtedly  are,  while  others 
would  look  foolish  if  an  undue 
share  of  attention  would  be  be- 
stowed upon  some  minute  and  un- 
attractive pattern  or  grain.  The 
subtlety  of  tonal  values  in  Fig.  ioi 
is  largely  due  to  the  exquisite  tex- 
tural representation. 

An  important  feature  in  every 
figure  composition  is  the  com- 
plexion, the  flesh  color  of  faces, 
hands,  or  such  parts  of  the  body 
as  might  be  shown.  It  should  be 
ordinarily  in  a much  higher  key 
than  it  is  in  most  photographs.  The 
arm  and  neck  in  Henri’s  picture 
has  a delightful  luminous  quality. 
He  subordinated  everything  else  to 
(Fig.  105)  Chas.  l.  Berg.  it-  1 do  not  see  any  use  of  repre- 
senting human  flesh  as  dark  as  it  is 
done  in  Figs.  103,  104,  108,  and  no.  There  is  no  excuse  for  it.  It  is  un- 
reasonable and  in  no  way  attractive  or  beautiful.  As  a realistic  study  of  flesh 
values  ( notice  the  dark  hand)  Haw- 
thorne’s fisherman  is  to  be  recom- 
mended. Fig-.  101  shows  a fair  ap- 
preciation of  the  luminosity  of  the 
human  face,  although  expressed  in 
a minor  key.  The  “Sleeping  Girl" 

(Fig.  iii),  by  the  Parrish  Sisters, 
shows  good  light  distribution  and 
modeling  but  is  deficient  in  flesh 
values  if  compared  to  the  Henri  pic- 
ture. The  composition  is  note- 
worthy as  it  has  been  managed  in 
the  shape  of  an  exaggerated  oblong, 
one  of  the  most  difficult  shapes  to 
master. 

“The  Water  Nymph”of  Charles 
I.  Berg.  (Fig.  105),  in  the  S shape 
deserves  its  reputation  as  a photo- 
graphic nude.  It  has  rarely  been 
excelled.  It  is  matter  of  fact  but 


THE  DRAWING  LESSON. 

(Fig.  no) 


E.  Sterling. 


102 


LANDSCAPE  AND  El  CURE  COMPOSITION 


the  form  is  shown  to  good  advan- 
tage and  the  light  flesh  quality  has 
been  preserved. 

In  posing  a nude  for  photo- 
graphic purposes  (and  I believe 
beter  results  can  be  obtained  by 
limiting  oneself  to  one  figure  like 
LeBegue  rather  than  grouping  a 
whole  bunch  like  Herzog),  one 
should  be  exceedingly  careful  to 
show  the  figure  in  such  way  that 
the  lines  are  really  beautiful.  Few 
models  are  perfect  in  form,  and 
one  should  only  reveal  such  views 
as  approach  perfection. 

The  Peterson  picture,  “At  the 
Saw  Bench’’  (Fig.  102),  is  a good 
example  of  depicting  an  occupa- 
tion. I think  clearness  is  pre- 
ferable to  the  mushiness  of  Figs. 
ioS  and  104.  In  the  latter  one  is  at  loss  to  say  what  the 
The  various  accessories,  the  silk  kimono,  the  gong,  the  n 
musical  instrument  would  surely  have  been  more  beautiful  if 
more  in  detail  and  with  textural  distinction. 

“The  Manger”  (Fig.  103),  is  a most  ambitious  effort, 
with  its  long  diagonal  and  short  vertical  lines  is  masterly  and 
figure  and  the  lighting  of  the  drapery  excellent.  The  only  sin 
darkness  of  the  face  and  hands. 


AT  THE  SAW  BENCH. 

(Fig.  102 


J.  R.  Peterson. 


figure  is  doing. 
>11  picture,  and 
depicted  a little 


The  background 
the  pose  of  the 
jrtcoming  is  the 


SLEEPING  GIRL. 


(Fig.  hi) 


W.  and  G.  Parrish. 


CHAPTER  XI 


Two-Figure  Composition.  Genre  Subjects.-  Various  Combinations  of 
Familiar  Principles. — A Linear  Experiment.  On  the  Placing  of 
Heads. — A Circular  Composition.—  With  Fifteen  Illustrations  and  Tv/o 
Diagrams. 


X TWO-FIGURE  composition  the  choice  of  subjects 
has  a much  wider  scope.  A single  figure  always 
looks  somewhat  isolated,  with  two  figures  at  one’s 
disposal  the  picture  becomes  more  animated.  It  be- 
comes much  easier  to  convey  a meaning  or  senti- 
ment, or  to  tell  a regular  story  like  Eastman  John- 
son in  his  “Fifer,"  Fig.  117,  or  "What  the  shell 
Says,”  Fig.  121. 


But  some  people  object  to  story-telling'.  They 
look  upon  it  as  something  unworthy  of  the  higher 
ideals  of  art.  By  this  they  do  not  altogether  mean 
that  minute  study  of  details  and  presentation  of 
facts  render  productions  of  this  kind  uninteresting, 
but  rather  that  they  lack  those  qualities  which  are 
associated  with  the  most  advanced  phases  of 
modern  art. 


Eastman  J oh  n so  n . 


THE  FIFER. 


Eastman  Johnson. 


WHA  T THE  SHELL  SA  ys. 

(Fig.  121.) 


1 °5 


(Fig.  117.) 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


CHILDREN  WITH  EISH. 

(Fig.  118.) 


C.  IV.  Hawthorne. 


This  objection  to  genre  subjects 
lias  always  seemed  rather  futile  to 
me.  Nobody  with  any  pretense  to 
taste  will  deny  that  those  artists  who 
devote  the  utmost  care  to  insignifi- 
cant objects  (and  who  still  enjoy  the 
popular  approval  of  the  public  as 
their  esthetic  shortsightedness  is 
equivalent  to  the  ordinary  seeing 
capacity  of  the  crowd),  are  artisti- 
cally inferior  to  those  who  master 
touch  and  technique.  Fig.  121  can 
not  compete  with  Hawthorne’s 
“Children  with  Fish,"  F'ig.  118,  in 
artistic  treatment.  But  how  about 
the  Little  Dutch  Masters  who  were 
genre  painters  in  the  strictest  sense 
of  the  word  (as  was  the  Franz  Hals 
in  the  last  chapter),  and  who  never- 
theless understood  to  invest  these 
popular  subjects  with  a charm  and 
fascination  far  beyond  ordinary  graphic  power  and  force  of  draughtsman- 
ship? And  cannot  also  the  paintings  of  Meissonnier  be  defended  on  the  same 
grounds  ? 

Let  us  investigate  the  matter  a 
little  more  closely.  It  is  extremely 
difficult  to  ascertain  of  what  material 
a genre  picture  is  constituted.  An 
Eastman  Johnson  like  Fig.  117  we 
would  classify  at  once  as  genre.  On 
the  other  hand  if  we  are  confronted 
w i t h George  Luks’  “Eastside 
Dancers,”  Fig.  125,  or  Stieglitz’s 
“Scurrying  Home,”  Fig.  114,  we 
would  hesitate  and  prefer  to  call 
them  “a  realistic  picture.”  And  yet 
there  is  in  both  styles  the  same  care- 
ful observation,  the  same  striving  to 
get  at  the  secrets  of  certain  types  of 
humanity,  the  same  desire  to  record 
completely  and  definitely  their  special 
traits.  The  difference  seems  to  lie 
first  in  the  conception,  for  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  all  these  pictures  tell 
a story,  and  second  in  the  treatment 


EASTSIDE  DANCERS. 

(Fig.  125.) 


Geo.  B.  Luks . 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


SCURR ) ’1NG  HOR1E IV A RD.  A l/red  St  ie glitz. 

(Fig.  1 14.) 

‘Mother  and  Child,”  by  Adelaide  Hans- 


The  one  is  told  a la  Dickens  in  a 
popular  way,  the  others  in  the  manner 
of  a writer  of  the  modern  realistic 
school  (like  Fig.  115),  which  may  be 
some  day  just  as  popular  as  the  other 
one. 

Although  story-telling,  if  too 
anecdotal  or  too  sentimental,  like  Fig. 

1 19,  is  rather  unesthetic  in  the  pic- 
torial representation  of  human  figures, 
as  long  as  they  are  seen  separately 
and  individually  and  not  en  masse  as 
the  impressionist  painters  depict  them, 

I see  no  reason  why  genre  subjects 
should  be  tabooed,  as  it  depends 
after  all  on  the  way  how  they  are 
treated. 

Figs.  1 14,  115,  1 18,  120,  124,  125, 
are  pictures  in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word.  Figs.  116  and  123  would  pass 
as  studies.  Fig.  126,  the  charming 
com,  is  a decorative  arrangement. 

The  parallelism  of  human  shapes  plays  an  important  part  in  two-figure 

composition.  We  have  it  in  Fig.  114 
in  the  form  of  irregular  shapes,  and 
in  Fig.  124  in  the  form  of  triangular 
shapes.  Louis  Fleckenstein’s  “A 
Pastorale,”  Fig.  122,  shows  us  the 
repetition  of  similar  figure  in  sym- 
metrical arrangement.  In  his  “The 
Hymn,”  big.  128,  the  figures  are  plac- 
ed in  too  symmetrical  a position.  They 
remind  one  of  a portrait  rather  than  a 
picture.  In  W.  J.  Glackens’  “At  the 
Cafe  Francis,”  Fig.  115,  we  have  a 
combination  of  the  S shape  and  a tri- 
angle. A different  version  ofthe  S shape, 
cut  into  by  a diagonal  angular  form, 
we  have  in  Mary  Cassatt’s  “Mother 
and  ( hild,  ’ Fig.  120.  The  same  in 
reverse  fashion  occurs  in  Eastman 
Johnson’s  “The  Kiss,”  Fig.  127.  Com- 
binations like  these  will  always  pro- 

COMING  THROUGH  THE  RYE.  L.  Fleckenstcin.  ClUCe  an  ocFl  picturesque  effect.  Ill 

(Fig.  1 19.)  big.  121  we  have  a quadrilateral  shape 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


supplemented  by  two  curves,  one  formed  by  the  child  and  the  other  by  the  legs 
of  the  old  man.  It  is  a trifle  elaborate  and  scarcely  a graceful  pose.  Jeanne  E. 
Bennett's  “The  Knitting  Lesson,"  Fig.  123,  carries  out  the  simple  diagonal  divi- 
sion with  a repetition  of  shapes.  “The  Portug'uese  Fishers,’’  by  Hawthorne,  is  an 
experiment  with  a triangular  form  and  a diagonal  ellipse.  It  is  not  quite  success- 
ful. The  connecting  link  is  missing.  If  the  men  were  looking  at  the  fish  instead 
of  staring  straight  out  of  the  picture  it  would  be  more  convincing.  Fig.  1 1 7 
represents  a rather  interesting  composition.  In  it  can  be  traced  the  diagonal  divi- 
sion, extended  by  the  horizontal  lines  of  the  chair  and  elaborated  by  the  small 
triangular  form  of  the  boy.  The  “Eastside  Dancers,"  are  conceived  as  an  oval 
with  a parallelism  of  diagonal  shapes  formed  by  the  arms  and  legs.  Fig.  126 
is  constructed  as  a triangle  with  a diagonal  angular  shape.  But  it  is  really 
constructed  as  an  experiment  in  line  composition,  and,  although  not  perfect, 
is  one  of  the  most  successful  ones  that  has  come  to  my  notice.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  hands,  the  principal  lines  of  the  child’s  body  and  the  slanting 


LANDSCAPE  AND  PIC, URL  COMPOSITION 


position  of  the  mother’s  face  are  well 
thought  out.  The  drawing  in  parts 
is  exceedingly  forceful.  Also  the 
drapery  to  the  left  is  well  managed. 
The  lighter  part  of  the  garment  is 
well  spaced,  but  rather  uncertain 
in  its  line  work.  Also  the  part  where 
the  arm  to  the  right  disappears  in  the 
drapery  could  have  been  more  clearly 
defined. 

The  differentiation  of  values  is 
not  quite  subtle  enough.  There  is  a 
certain  monotony  of  grayness  through- 
out the  picture.  The  body  of  the 
child  and  the  hands  of  the  mother, 
even  her  drapery,  are  all  in  the  same 
key.  Of  course  I perfectly  realize  the 
difficulty  of  combining  line  composi- 
tion with  correct  value.  Miss  Ilans- 
com  sacrificed  all  modeling  in  favor 
of  a stronger  accentuation  of  line, 
even  to  the  extent  of  allowing  the 
child’s  head  to  become  almost  a form- 


THE  KNITTING  LESSON.  J.  C.  Bennett. 

(Fig-.  123.) 


A PASTORALE.  Louis  Fleckenstein. 

(Fig.  122.) 


less  mass.  Yet  there  is  no  reason  why 
flat  tints  should  be  deprived  of  tonal 
variety.  If  the  child’s  body  could 
have  been  rendered  a trifle  lighter 
than  the  hands  which  support  it,  but 
could  still  remain  a shade  darker  than 
the  mother’s  face,  the  picture,  no 
doubt,  would  have  been  greatly  im- 
proved, at  least  as  far  as  the  sugges- 
tion of  color  goes. 

One  striking  peculiarity  in  two- 
figure  composition  is  the  similarity  in 
the  position  of  the  heads.  There 
seems  to  be  only  three  typical  versions. 
Others  may  be  possible  but  they  are 
uncommon.  The  heads  are  either 
separated  or  grouped  together.  If 
they  are  separated  a line  from  top  to 
top  would  either  form  a straight 
(Diag.  51  b)  or  a diagonal  line  (Diag. 
51  a).  If  they  are  together  one  is  in- 
variably situated  lower  than  the  other, 


109 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  STORY.  (Fig.  124.)  C.  IV.  Hawthorne • 

narily  the  best  combinations  in  two- 
figure  compositions.  Two  profiles, 
three-quarter  or  full  face  views  rarely 
look  well.  Variety  is  always  desir- 
able, in  every  phase  of  composition. 

If  the  heads  are  separated,  fre- 
quently a new  problem  enters.  It  is 
the  space  between  the  heads.  It  must 
be  of  some  irregular  but  interesting 
shape  as  indicated  in  Diag.  52,  or  the 
heads,  sometimes  the  whole  figures, 
will  look  isolated  and  awkward  as  in 
Fig.  1 19.  In  Figs  114,  1 1 5 . 122,  and 
128  the  spacing  is  good,  in  the  latter, 
however,  a trifle  too  undecided.  Fig. 
1 17  represents  a more  elaborate  shape 
and  is  not  as  good. 

The  connecting  link  should  never 
be  missing  if  two  figures  are  separated. 
Fig.  1 17  is  deficient  in  that  respect. 
There  should  be  something  in  the  back- 


if  but  a mere  trifle  (Diag.  51  c) . 
The  position  of  c with  both  heads  on 
the  same  level  is  only  possible  in  por- 
traiture. The  version  b is  also 
scarce.  We  have  seen  it  in  the 
Fleckenstein  photo,  Fig.  128.  It  is 
not  pictorial  and  should  be  used  as 
little  as  possible,  excepting  sym- 
metrical decorative  arrangements 
with  a figure  placed  at  the  upright 
edge  of  the  picture.  In  all  other  il- 
lustrations you  will  notice  that  the 
position  will  be  either  like  a or  c. 
Version  c is  a good  vehicle  to  express 
sentiment.  In  that  case  the  ovals  of 
the  face  partly  overlap  each  other,  as 
in  Figs.  120  and  127.  In  Fig.  126  the 
sentiment  is  carried  out  by  the  ex- 
pression on  the  mother’s  face. 

A three-quarter  view  and  a full 
face  view,  Fig.  124,  or  a profile  and 
three-quarter  view,  Fig.  121,  are  ordi- 


MOTHER  AND  CHILD.  Adelaide  Hanscom. 

(Fig-.  126.) 


I IO 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


LA  TOILETTE.  (Fig.  120.)  M.'Cassatt. 


THE  HYMN. 


~ Louis  Fleckenstein. 

(Fig.  128.) 


THE  KISS. 


(Fig.  127.) 


Eastman  Johnson 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


ground,  if  merely  a differentiation  of  tone,  that  would  bring  the  two  figures 
closer  together.  If  two  figures  stand  or  walk  very  near  to  each  other  as  in 
Figs.  114,  122',  128,  it  can  be  left  to  the  space  between  the  heads.  The  hymn 
book  in  the  latter  of  course  was  necessary,  as  it  is  the  only  pictorial  element  in 
this  picture.  In  Fig.  1 1 5 it  is  accomplished  by  the  double  angles  of  the  lady’s 
arm  and  the  gentleman’s  arm  and  hand;  in  Fig.  121,  by  the  little  girl’s  arm 
holding  the  shell.  In  Fig.  119  it  is  entirely  absent,  and  there  is  no  unity  in  the 
picture. 

A particularly  interesting  composition  that  calls  for  special  analysis  is  Haw- 
thorne's “Children  with  Fish,"  Fig.  1 18.  There  are  four  conspicuous  shapes  of 
different  sizes:  one  large  oval,  the  pan  with  the  fish  ; two  small  ovals,  the  faces 
of  the  two  boys;  and  the  long  irregular  shape  of  the  fish  that  is  held  up.  Three 
of  these  forms  are  placed  in  a parallel  way,  the  fourth  and  largest  one  in  a 
diagonal  shape.  All  four  together  make  a sort  of  circular  shape.  A great 
painter  would  have  made  it  more  decided. 

For  the  success  of  a composition  depends  as  I have  stated  over  and  over 
again  on  some  interesting  irregular  or,  if  possible,  geometrical  shape.  It 
should  not  be  overconspicuous  to  the  beholder,  but  its  form  should  be  there  to 
regulate  all  the  elements  of  construction  and  render  them  as  agreeable  to  sight. 
The  eye  has  a natural  inclination  to  unite  opposite  sides  and  corners,  and 
traversing  the  surface  of  the  picture  it  should  be  attracted  first  by  one  point, 
and  then  with  perfect  ease  glide  from  this  point  to  another,  taking  in  all  details, 
surprises,  and  beauties  of  the  subject  represented.  And  this  the  simplest 
forms  do  best. 


1 1 2 


CHAPTER  XII 


Composition  of  Three  or  More  Figures. — Headlines  and  Juxtaposition. - 
Photographic  Difficulties. — A New  Departure. — With  Thirteen  Illus- 
trations and  Four  Diagrams. 

E HAVE  now  come  to  the  final  discussion. 
Those  of  my  readers,  who  have  not  merely 
read  but  studied  my  papers  and  practically 
experimented  with  the  principles  I wished 
to  convey,  will  be  by  this  time  familiar  with 
what  I consider  the  essentials  of  landscape 
and  figure  composition.  I have  very  little 
more  to  add  and  this  last  paper  will  be 
largely  a review  of  all  the  varied  elements 
of  composition  as  applied  to  the  accompany- 
ing illustrations. 

Composition  of  three  figures  or  more 
is  largely  a repetition  or  juxtaposition  of 
shapes.  W e have  repetition  for  instance  in 
Figs.  129  and  136;  juxtaposition  in  a de- 
cided fashion  in  Figs.  130,  131,  and  132;  a combination  of  both  in  Fig.  138. 


TWO  STEINS. 


(Fig.  129.) 


J.  P.  Kelvter. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


WAITING  FOR  FAIR  WEA  THER , BRITTANY.  (Fig.  136.) 


W.  G.  Cor  til  ell. 


Special  attention  should  be  devoted  to  the  headline  of  Diag.  51.  It  be- 
comes more  complicated  with  a larger  number  of  figures.  It  is  either  angular 
in  tendency  or  curved.  The  Japanese  artists  were  particularly  careful  as  in 
everything  pertaining  to  linear  composition.  In  the  three  Yeddo  street  scenes 
of  Shunsho  we  have  the  three  forms  of  Diag.  53.  The  first  one  has  an  Oriental 
flavor.  Our  artists  seldom  use  it.  They  prefer  a line  as  in  a,  Diag.  54.  The 
other  two  are  in  common  use,  particularly  the  third  as  seen  in  Fig.  136.  The 
curved  headlines,  Diag.  55,  are  perhaps  more  graceful.  The  top  one  is  probably 
the  most  common.  Ivelmer  has  used  it  in  his  “Two  Steins,”  Fig.  129.  The 
second  is  used  bv  Eickemeyer,  “The  Dance,”  Fig.  138,  which  although  made 
years  ago  can  still  claim  of  being  one  of  the  best  photographic  figure  composi- 
tions. 1 here  should  be  a certain  sweep  and  easy  flow  to  these  lines.  If  they 
are  awkward  the  whole  composition  will  look  awkward. 

Diag.  56  shows  the  triangular  headline  which  is  only  possible  in  decorative 
designs  like  Abbot  Thayer's  "Caritas,”  Fig.  TJ3.  In  diagram  54  I have  tried 
to  show  the  principle  of  juxtaposition.  The  figures  are  generally  divided  into 
one  single  figure  (or  two)  and  a group  which  contains  the  rest  of  the  figures. 


14 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


MIL  TON  DICTA  TING  TO  HIS  DA  UGHTER.  (Fig.  130.)  Eastman  Johnson. 


The  group  forms  a headline,  the  head  of  the  single  figure  merely  a spot.  In 
Fig/141  we  have  Diag.  54  a,  in  Fig.  130  version  b,  and  in  Fig.  134  version  c. 

In  Eastman  Johnson’s  “Milton  Dictating  to  his  Daughters,”  Fig.  130,  the 
figures  are  placed  in  a rather  monotonous  way.  They  are  too  far  away  from 
each  other  and  there  is  nothing  to  connect  them.  The  foreground  is  too  bald, 


and  the  bookcase  with  its  horizontal 
lines  is  in  no  relation  to  the  shapes  of 
the  figures.  The  picture  has  many 
excellent  qualities  but  is  not  satis- 
factory as  a composition. 

There  are  two  other  pictures  by 
the  same  painter  among  our  illustra- 
tions, the  "School  of  Philosophy,’ 
Fig.  135,  and  “Corn  Husking,  Nan- 
tucket,” Fig.  137.  The  elliptical  ar- 
rangement of  the  figures  is  clever  but 
placed  a trifle  too  high.  The  picture 
is  deficient  in  an  even  balance  of 
masses.  There  are  too  many  un- 
regulated spots.  This  seems  to  be 


56 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


AT  THE  WELL.  (Fig.  131.)  H.  Denman. 


a shortcoming  of  tlie  artist  as  we  have  encountered  it  before.  The  types  of 
the  villagers  are  carefully  chosen  and  posed  in  characteristic  attitudes,  in  par- 
ticular the  shoemaker  and  the  old  man  behind  the  stove.  The  shoemaker  on 
the  bench  with  the  sunlit  background  covered  with  all  sorts  of  accumulations  is 
a picture  in  itself,  and  really  a better  one  than  the  entire  one.  You  will  often 


CORN  HUSKING , NANTUCKET. 


(Fig.  137.) 


Eastman  Johnson. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


THE  DANCE.  (Fig.  138.)  Rudolph  Eickemeyer^  Jr. 

come  across  pictures  that  contain  a picture  within  a picture.  Whenever  this 
is  the  case  you  may  be  certain  that  there  is  something  wrong  about  the  com- 
position. In  a good  composition  nothing  is  isolated. 

Fig.  137  on  the  other  hand  is  an  excellent  example  of  the  triangular 
cut  in  figure  composition.  The  place  is  well  filled  and  the  irregular  lines  of 
the  huskers  have  the  right  accents  to  make  them  agreeable  to  the  eye.  Local 
events  like  a husking  bee  are  well  worth  depicting.  They  have  a human 
interest  and  can  be  treated  in  a broad  picturesque  manner. 

The  “Division  Stock  Co.,”  by  J.  A.  Hood,  Fig'.  140,  is  an  ordinary 
group  photograph,  although  fairly  well  done  from  the  professional  point  of 
view.  The  grouping  itself  is  not  so  bad,  but  the  figures  are  all  posed  in  a 
stereotyped  manner.  There  is  no  life  in  the  picture  and  no  pictorial  quality 
whatever.  I merely  show  it  as  an  example  of  what  to  avoid.  As  a portrait  it 
has  merits  but  as  a picture,  despite  the  triangular  cut  and  the  undulating  head- 
line, it  is  a failure. 

Fig.  129  is  good  in  detail  and  texture  but  spotty.  Each  figure  taken  by 
itself  is  a good  portrait  and  tonal  composition,  but  grouped  together  the  im- 
pression is  one  of  monotony.  You  may  argue  that  Franz  Hals  has  done  the 
same  thing,  simply  combined  five  or  six  separate  portraits  into  a group.  True 
enough,  but  he  had  some  light  conception  that  formed  the  connecting  link  and 

1 1 7 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


SCHOOL  OF  PHILOSOPHY.  (f'lg.  135.)  Kastman  Johnson. 

put  life  and  virility  in  the  picture.  He  did  not  treat  five  figures  in  exactly  the 
same  manner,  and  placed  them  in  a straight  line  so  that  they  formed  a zigzag 
repetition  of  shapes.  Professionals  should  stick  to  portraiture,  they  rarely 
make  a hit  as  pictorialists. 

Even  Eickemeyer's  "The  Dance,”  looks  posed  and  consequently  somewhat 
stiff.  The  trouble  with  photographic  genre  is  that  it  depends  too  largely  on 
the  models  and  their  ability  to  pose,  and  to  remain  natural  looking  during  a long 
studio  exposure  is  almost  a physical  impossibility.  Eickemeyer  made  a most 
ambitious  attempt  to  overcome  these  difficulties ; he  had  the  proper  models  and 
studio  outfits  on  hand,  he  thought  out  the  composition  carefully,  altered  it 
frequently,  made  study  after  study  until  he  finally  succeeded  in  getting  an  ex- 
cellent result.  But  pictures  of  this  kind  will  always  lack  virility. 

“On  the  Dyke,”  Fig.  134,  by  Elizabeth  Nourse,  an  American  woman 
painter  living  in  Holland  is  interesting  as  a rectangular  composition  with  a 
diagonal  division  in  the  seascape.  The  parallelism  in  the  group,  reminding  one 
of  Japanese  figures,  is  decorative  in  tendency.  You  will  notice  that  the  group 
has  a quadrilateral  shape.  The  severity  of  the  rectangular  idea  is  somewhat 
broken  by  the  curve  form  of  the  little  child. 

A repetition  of  shapes  we  have  in  W.  G.  Corthell’s  “Waiting  for  Fair 
Weather,”  Fig.  136.  It  never  fails  to  produce  an  effect,  but  the  figures  in  the 
middle  distance  are  badly  placed  and  the  sky  line  is  too  straight. 

“Colonial  Days,”  by  Jeanne  E.  Bennett,  shows  a repetition  of  forms  in 
the  seated  figures  and  of  angles  in  all  three.  Together  they  make  a triangular 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


DA  VIDSON  STOCK  CO.  (Fig.  140.)  J.  A.  Hood. 

shape.  But  I fear  there  are  too  many  lines  in  the  foreground  and  background. 
If  the  diagonal  division  of  light  and  shade  had  been  carried  out  more 
poignantly  the  picture  might  have  fared  better.  As  it  is  there  is  too  much 
even  light  distribution  and  the  picture  looks  flat. 

A very  fine  triangular  group  of  three  female  figures,  each  decided  and 
individual  in  its  linear  form,  is  shown  by  Herbert  Denman  in  his  “At  the  Well.” 
Photographers  who  appreciate  the  variety  and  distinction  of  linear  expres- 
sion will  find  valuable  information  in  the  study  of  Japanese  prints.  The  Japanese 
were  first  of  all  draughtsmen  and  laid  special  stress  upon  the  detail  of  line. 
To  produce  a combination  of  easy  flowing  lines  full  of  life  and  character  is 
nearly  as  valuable  an  accomplishment  as  to  concoct  an  even  tonality  which 
hides  so  many  shortcomings  in  its  dismal  seas  of  brown. 

Fig.  r 4 1 shows  a fairly  well  managed  group,  but  there  is  nothing  special 
to  comment  upon.  It  lacks  concentration.  A darker  background  caused  by 
the  closed  lower  windows  would  have  made  the  figures  more  interesting. 

1 he  “Caritas,  ’ by  Abbott  Thayer,  Fig.  133,  is  a beautiful  sample  of  sym- 
metrical composition.  It  represents  perfect  balance,  beauty,  and  repose,  and 
is  achieved  by  the  simplest  means.  A long  parallelogram  supported  by  two 
smaller  ones,  with  a equilateral  triangle  formed  by  the  head  and  extended 
arms.  The  light  plane  of  the  figures  is  balanced  by  the  two  long  curves  of  the 


19 


L.  I X DSC.  I PE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


ON  THE  DYKE.  Elizabeth  Nourse . 

(Fig.  134.) 


Painting  and  photography,  true 
enough,  are  two  entirely  different 
propositions,  but  the  fundamental 
principles  of  composition  remain  the 
same  in  all  mediums  of  pictorial  rep- 
resentation. 

To  those  who  believe  that  photog- 
raphy can  tell  certain  things  better 
than  any  other  vehicle  of  expression, 
I would  advise  to  be  as  realistic  and 
impressionistic  as  possible,  and  to 
strive  for  character,  virility,  and 
variety  rather  than  studio  effects.  The 
subjects  are  everywhere.  We  only 
need  to  keep  our  eyes  open.  Any 
person  with  sympathy  for  the  time, 
place,  and  conditions  in  which  he 
lives,  has  only  to  take  a walk,  or  board 
a trolley  , to  find  a picture  worthy  of 
depiction  and  full  of  human  interest. 

Contemporary  life  and  local  effects 
are  always  interesting  and  the  more 


dark  foliage.  Compositions  of  this 
kind  are  only  suitable  to  express  al- 
legorical ideas.  Vivacity,  variety, 
and  picturesqueness  of  effect  are  im- 
possible to  it. 

Each  form  of  composition  has 
its  own  individuality  and  demands  its 
own  range  of  subjects.  In  the  141 
illustrations  that  have  accompanied 
my  articles  I have  shown  a large 
variety  of  themes.  I do  not  say  that 
they  were  all  photographically  pos- 
sible but  they  were  suggestive  of  the 
best  that  is  accomplished  in  contem- 
porary art.  T have  avoided  examples  of 
Old  Masters,  and  laid  special  stress 
upon  good  examples  of  our  younger 
American  painters.  There  are  no 
better  examples  than  can  be  fur- 
nished by  contemporary  artists  of  our 
own  country. 


CA RITAS.  (Fig.  i33.)  A.  H.  Thayer. 


LANDSCAPE  AND  FIGURE  COMPOSITION 


COLONIAL  DAYS.  Jeanne  Bennett. 

(Fig.  132.) 


IN  THE  TAVERN. 


Max  Gaissey. 

(Fig.  141.) 


realistic  these  efforts  are  the  more  hopeful  the  future  of  pictorialism  will  grow, 
for  it  is  not  dullness  in  nature,  'but  an  intense  tediousness  in  the  seer  that  gives 
rise  to  the  phrase  “commonplace  realism”  and  urges  photography  to  hie  itself 
to  an  artificial  studio  atmosphere. 


YEDDO  STREET  SCENES. 


(Fig.  139.) 


Shunsho . 


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